' 


or  CAUF.  .  u* 


BY 
MELVILLE  DAVISSON  POST 


DWELLERS  IN  THE  HILLS 
THE  MAN  OP  LAST  RESORT 

THE  STRANGE  SCHEMES  OP 
RANDOLPH  MASON.       .     . 


THE  MAN  OF  LAST  RESORT 

OR  THE  CLIENTS  OF 
RANDOLPH  MASON 


$\. 


BY 

MELVILLE  DAVISSON   POST 

Author  of  "  The  Strange  Schemes  of 
Randolph  Mason" 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

|)uss 


COPYRIGHT,  1897 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 

Sixth    Printing 


Cbc  •Knickerbocker  prcea,  Hew  fiork 


PREFACE 

IN  this  fin-de-siecle  time,  society  has  grown 
liberal,  it  is  said,  and  yet  he  who  thrusts 
a  lever  under  sage  customs,  or  he  who  points 
out  the  vice  of  institutions  long  established, 
may  deem  himself  happy  if  he  be  permitted  to 
strip  against  the  duellist  rather  than  the  mob. 
Even  if  one  come  new  into  the  courts  of  the 
literati  with  a  cloak  dyed  a  different  hue  from 
his  fellows,  he  will  scarcely  have  passed  the 
doorway  ere  the  taunting  challenge,  "  Do  you 
fight,  my  lord  ?" 

The  author,  in  a  previous  volume  entitled 
The  Strange  Schemes  of  Randolph  Mason, 
pointed  out  certain  defects  in  the  criminal  law, 
and  demonstrated  how  the  skilful  rogue  could 
commit  not  a  few  of  the  higher  crimes  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  render  the  law  powerless  to 
punish  him.  The  suggestion  was,  it  seems, 
iii 


iv  Preface. 

considered  startling,  and  the  volume  has  pro- 
voked large  discussion.  A  few  gentlemen  of 
no  inconsiderable  legal  learning,  and  certain 
others  to  be  classified  as  moral  reformers,  con- 
tended that  the  book  must  be  dangerous  be- 
cause it  explained  with  great  detail  how  one 
could  murder  or  steal  and  escape  punishment. 
If  the  laws  were  to  be  improved,  they  said, 
"  would  it  not  be  more  wisely  done  by  in- 
fluencing a  few  political  leaders  ?  " 

While  such  a  criticism  does  not  come  from 
any  considerable  number  of  authorities,  it  has 
been  honestly  made  and  is  entitled  to  con- 
sideration. 

The  vice  of  it  lies,  it  seems  to  me,  in  a  failure 
to  grasp  the  actual  nature  of  our  institutions. 
It  is  a  maxim  of  our  system  that  the  law- 
making  power  of  the  state  rests  in  the  first  in- 
stance with  the  people  of  the  state.  This 
power,  for  the  purpose  of  convenience,  is  dele- 
gated to  certain  selected  persons  who  meet 
together  in  order  to  put  into  effect  the  will  of 
the  people. 

The  so-called  law-makers  are  therefore  not 
law-makers  at  all,  in  the  sense  of  being  origin- 


Preface.  v 

ators  of  the  law ;  they  are  rather  agents  who 
come  up  from  their  respective  districts  under 
instructions.  Such  agents  are  simply  tempo- 
rary representatives  of  the  citizens  of  their  re- 
spective districts,  directly  responsible  to  them 
and  charged  with  no  duty  other  than  that  of 
putting  their  will  into  effect.  The  agent  or 
delegate  should  therefore  approach  very  con- 
servatively any  matter  upon  which  the  will  of 
his  constituency  has  not  been  satisfactorily 
determined.  It  is,  then,  apparent  that  the 
influence  which  makes  or  which  alters  the  law 
is  a  force  exerted  from  without.  No  change 
in  the  law  can  be  properly  or  safely  brought 
about  except  through  the  pressure  of  public 
sentiment.  The  need  for  the  law  must  be  first 
felt  by  the  people  and  the  demand  for  it  made 
before  the  legislator  is  warranted  in  acting. 
The  representative  would  otherwise  become  a 
presumptive  usurper,  afflicting  the  people  with 
statutes  for  which  there  was  no  public  demand ; 
and  such  laws,  so  improperly  obtained,  would 
be  without  the  support  of  public  sentiment  and 
would  be  liable  to  repeal. 

Hence  it  is  entirely  clear  that  if  the  existing 


vi  Preface. 

law  prove  to  be  unjust  or  defective,  the  people 
must  be  brought  to  see  and  appreciate  such 
injustice  or  inadequacy  and  to  demand  the 
requisite  modification. 

This  contention  can,  as  it  seems  to  me,  not 
be  gainsaid.  It  is  respectfully  urged  that  no 
other  method  of  securing  wise  changes  in  the 
law  can  be  properly  pursued  under  democratic 
institutions.  To  hold  otherwise  is  to  take 
issue  with  the  wisdom  of  democracy  itself,  and 
with  so  rash  a  champion  the  writer  has  no 
spear  to  break.  Indeed,  he  makes  this  explan- 
ation with  immense  unwillingness,  as  he  feels 
that  he  should  not  be  required  to  defend  a 
truth  so  evident.  It  is  like  demonstrating 
gravely  that  the  earth  is  round  and  that  sun- 
light is  an  energy. 

Yet  he  is  advised  that  attention  should  be 
called  to  this  matter,  lest  the  thoughtless  con- 
demn upon  a  hearing  ex-parte.  Indeed,  even 
after  the  punishment  of  la  peine  forte  et  dure  is 
gone  out  these  many  hundred  years,  the  good 
citizen  will  hardly  hold  that  one  guiltless  who 
stands  dumb  while  hidden  evils  assail.  If  men 
about  their  affairs  were  passing  to  and  fro 


Preface.  vii 

across  a  great  bridge,  and  one  should  discover 
that  certain  planks  in  its  flooring  were  defec- 
tive, would  he  do  ill  if  he  pointed  them  out  to 
his  fellows  ?  If  men  labored  in  the  shops  and 
traded  in  the  market  confident  in  the  security 
of  their  city's  wall,  and  one  should  perceive 
that  the  wall  was  honeycombed  with  holes, 
could  he  stand  dumb  and  escape  the  stigma  of 
being  a  traitor  ?  The  law  makes  little  differ- 
ence in  the  degree  of  moral  turpitude  between 
the  suppressio  veri  and  the  suggestio  falsi. 
Both  are  grievous  wrongs.  The  duty  of  the 
individual  to  the  state  is  imperative.  He  can- 
not evade  it  and  continue  to  regard  himself  as 
a  worthy  citizen. 

Is  there  not  in  all  this  criticism  a  faint  sug- 
gestion of  the  men  who  "  darken  counsel  by 
words  without  knowledge  "  ? 

Lycurgus  taught  the  laws  to  the  people, 
Solon  taught  the  laws  to  the  people.  The 
Roman  law  provided  for  a  final  appeal  from 
the  consul  to  the  people,  and  the  very  essence 
of  republican  institutions  lies,  as  has  been  said, 
in  a  recognition  of  the  people  as  the  source  of 
the  law-making  power.  If  the  law  offers  im- 


viii  Preface. 

perfect  security  and  is  capable  of  revision,  the 
people  must  be  taught  in  order  that  they  may 
revise  it.  If  it  offers  insufficient  security  and 
is  incapable  of  revision,  then  the  people  must 
be  taught  in  order  that  they  may  protect  them- 
selves. This  conclusion  is  irresistible.  To 
counsel  otherwise  is  to  share  in  the  odium  of 
that  short-sighted  ambassador  who  urged  upon 
Pericles  the  wisdom  of  reversing  the  tablet 
upon  which  the  law  was  written  in  order  that 
the  people  might  not  read  the  decree. 

Surely,  then,  he  who  points  out  the  vices  of 
the  law  to  the  people  cannot  be  said  to  do  evil, 
unless  the  law  of  the  land  is  to  be  made  by  a 
narrow  patriciate  sitting,  like  the  Areopagus  of 
ancient  Athens,  with  closed  doors. 

That  yesterday  in  which  the  enemies  of 
society  plied  their  craft  by  means  of  the  jimmy 
and  the  dark  lantern  is  now  almost  entirely 
past.  The  master  rogue  has  discovered,  with 
immense  satisfaction,  that  the  labor  of  others 
may  be  enjoyed,  and  the  results  of  their  labor 
seized  and  appropriated  to  his  uses,  without 
thrusting  himself  within  the  control  of  criminal 
tribunals. 


Preface.  ix 

Wise  magistrates,  laboring  for  the  welfare  of 
the  race,  have  been  pleased  to  write  down  what 
should  be  done  and  what  should  not  be  done, 
and  have  called  it  "  law."  The  citizen,  having 
no  time  to  inquire,  has  gone  about  his  trade 
under  the  impression  that  these  rules  were 
offering  ample  protection  to  his  person  and  his 
property.  But  the  law,  being  of  human  de- 
vice, is  imperfect,  and  in  this  fag  end  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  evil  genius  thrusts 
through  and  despoils  the  citizen,  and  the  rob- 
bery is  all  the  more  easy  because  the  victim 
sleeps  in  a  consciousness  of  perfect  security. 

The  writer  has  undertaken  to  point  out  a  few 
of  the  more  evident  inadequacies  of  the  law 
and  a  few  of  the  simpler  methods  for  evasion 
that  are  utilized  by  the  skilful  villain.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  more  gigantic 
and  more  intricate  methods  for  evading  the 
law  and  for  appropriating  the  property  of  the 
citizen  are  available.  The  unwritten  records 
of  business  ventures  and  the  reports  of  courts 
are  crowded  with  the  record  of  huge  schemes 
having  for  their  ultimate  purpose  the  robbery 
of  the  citizen.  Some  of  these  have  been  sue- 


x  Preface. 

cessful  and  some  have  failed.  Enough  have 
brought  great  fortunes  to  their  daring  perpe- 
trators to  appal  that  one  who  looks  on  with 
the  welfare  of  human  society  at  heart. 

The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  law 
herein  dealt  with  is  the  law  as  it  is  adminis- 
tered in  the  legal  forms  of  his  country,  in  no 
degree  changed  and  in  no  degree  colored  by 
the  imagination  of  the  author.  Every  legal 
statement  represents  an  established  principle, 
thoroughly  analyzed  by  the  courts  of  last  re- 
sort. There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  prob- 
able truth  of  these  legal  conclusions.  They 
are  as  certainly  established  as  it  is  possible  for 
the  decisions  of  courts  to  establish  any  principle 
of  law. 

The  reader  is  reminded  that  the  schemes  of 
skilled  plotters,  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of 
defeating  the  spirit  of  the  law,  are,  for  the 
most  part,  too  elaborate  and  too  intricate  to  be 
made  the  subject  of  popular  discussion.  An 
attempt  to  explain  to  the  but  half-interested 
layman  plots  of  this  character  would  be  as 
vain  as  an  attempt  to  demonstrate  an  abstract 
problem  in  analytical  mechanics.  The  knaves 


Preface.  xi 

who  have  been  pleased  to  devote  their  energies 
and  their  capacities  to  problems  of  this  nature 
are  experts  learned  and  capable,  and  against 
these  the  average  man  of  affairs  can  defend 
himself  but  poorly.  He  may  be  warned,  how- 
ever, and  the  author  will  have  accomplished 
his  purpose  if  he  succeeds  in  identifying  the 
black  flag  of  such  pirate  crafts. 

In  the  present  volume  he  has  deemed  it  wise 
to  continue  to  utilize  as  his  central  figure  the 
lawyer,  Randolph  Mason, — a  rather  mysterious 
legal  misanthrope,  having  no  sense  of  moral 
obligation,  but  learned  in  the  law,  who  by 
virtue  of  the  strange  tilt  of  his  mind  is  pleased 
to  strive  with  the  difficulties  of  his  clients  as 
though  they  were  mere  problems  involving  no 
matter  of  right  or  equity  or  common  justice. 

This  emotionless  counsellor  has  already  been 
introduced  to  the  public.  He  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  man  in  the  middle  forties.  "  Tall 
and  reasonably  broad  across  the  shoulders; 
muscular,  without  being  either  stout  or  lean. 
His  hair  was  thin  and  of  a  brown  color,  with 
erratic  streaks  of  gray.  His  forehead  was 
broad  and  high  and  of  a  faint  reddish  color. 


xii  Preface. 

His  eyes  were  restless,  inky  black,  and  not 
over-large.  The  nose  was  big  and  muscular 
and  bowed.  The  eyebrows  were  black  and 
heavy,  almost  bushy.  There  were  heavy  fur- 
rows, running  from  the  nose  downward  and 
outward  to  the  corners  of  the  mouth.  The 
mouth  was  straight,  and  the  jaw  was  heavy 
and  square. 

"  Looking  at  the  face  of  Randolph  Mason 
from  above,  the  expression  in  repose  was 
crafty  and  cynical;  viewed  from  below  up- 
ward, it  was  savage  and  vindictive,  almost 
brutal ;  while  from  the  front,  if  looked  squarely 
in  the  face,  the  stranger  was  fascinated  by  the 
animation  of  the  man,  and  at  once  concluded 
that  his  expression  was  at  the  same  time  sneer- 
ing and  fearless.  He  was  evidently  of  South- 
ern extraction  and  a  man  of  unusual  power." 

This  counsellor,  keen,  powerful,  and  yet 
devoid  of  any  sense  of  moral  obligation,  is 
possessed  of  this  one  idea — that  the  difficulties 
of  men  are  problems  and  that  he  can  solve 
them ;  that  the  law,  being  of  human  origin,  can 
be  evaded;  that  its  servants,  being  but  men 
like  the  others,  may  be  balked,  and  thwarted 


Preface.  xiii 

and  baffled  in  their  efforts  at  a  proper  adminis- 
tration of  this  law. 

It  is  the  age  of  the  able  rogue,  and,  in  ex- 
amining his  rascally  schemes,  the  writer  has 
finally  come  to  believe  that  the  ancient  maxim, 
which  declares  that  the  law  will  always  find  a 
remedy  for  a  wrong,  is,  in  this  present  time  of 
hasty  legislation,  not  to  be  accepted  as  trust- 
worthy. 


CONTENTS. 

PACK 

PREFACE        v 

THE  GOVERNOR'S  MACHINE  i 

MRS.  VAN  BARTAN 97 

ONCE  IN  JEOPARDY 135 

THE  GRAZIER 221 

THE  RULE  AGAINST  CARPER        .        .        .  259 


THE 
GOVERNOR'S   MACHINE 

(See  the  learned  opinion  of  Mr.  Justice  Matthews  in  the  case 
of  Irwin  vs.  Williar,  no  U.  S.  Reports,  499 ;  the  case  of 
Waugh  vs.-  Beck,  114  Pa.  State,  422  ;  also  Williamson  vs. 
Baley,  78  Mo.,  636  ;  15  B.  Monroe,  Ky.  Reports,  138.  See 
also,  in  Virginia,  the  case  of  Machir  vs.  Moore,  2  Grat.,  258.) 


T^HERE  was  something  on  the  Governor's 
1  mind,  and  when  this  condition  obtained, 
interesting  events  had  usually  followed  in  the  far 
Southwest.  This  highly  mystic  mental  status 
had  preceded  the  efforts  of  a  Federal  Court  to 
compel  him  to  act  under  a  mandamus,  and  the 
result  was  history.  It  had  preceded  a  memor- 
able conflict  between  the  legislature  at  large 
and  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  also  at 
large,  and  immediately  thereafter  a  certain 
statute  had  sprung  into  existence  prohibiting 
the  massing  of  State  troops  within  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  Capitol  during  the  sitting  of 
the  Solons  of  the  Commonwealth ;  but  it  was 
3 


4  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

a  law  after  the  fact.  It  had  preceded  also  the 
mercurial  efforts  of  the  so-called  patriotic 
orders  to  impeach  the  Executive  for  malfeas- 
ance, misfeasance,  and  nonfeasance, — an  effort 
that  had  brought  to  its  instigators  only  a  lurid 
and  inglorious  rout. 

The  Governor  was  standing  at  the  eastern 
window  of  his  private  office  looking  out  at  the 
monotonous  brown  tablelands  stretching  away 
to  the  foothills  of  the  blue  mountains  that 
marked  the  outer  limits  of  his  jurisdiction. 
He  was  a  young  man,  this  Governor,  with  the 
firm,  straight  figure  of  a  soldier  and  the  gra- 
cious bearing  of  important  ancestry.  His  eyes 
were  brown,  and  his  hair  and  Van  Dyke  beard 
were  brown  also — all  indicative,  say  the  sages, 
of  precisely  what  the  Governor  was  not.  He 
was  perfectly  groomed.  Every  morning  when 
he  walked  down  to  the  State-house  he  was  the 
marvel  and  the  fastidious  spotless  idol  of  the 
far  Southwest. 

One  would  have  imagined  that  this  hand- 
some fellow  had  just  stepped  out  from  a  smart 
New  York  club,  could  he  have  forgotten  that 
such  an  institution  was  almost  a  continent  to 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  5 

eastward.  The  Governor  had  maintained  that 
it  was  quite  possible  to  live  as  a  gentleman 
should  wherever  Providence  had  provided 
Chinamen  and  water,  and  that  the  matter  was 
not  entirely  hopeless  if  the  Chinamen  were  not 
to  be  had,  so  the  water  remained. 

It  was  true  indeed  that  the  Executive  had 
maintained  his  customs  with  no  little  pain 
against  the  divers  protests  of  gods  and  men, 
ofttimes  wrought  in  silence,  but  not  infre- 
quently urged  fiercely  in  the  open.  But  the 
Governor  was  not  one  with  whom  meddling 
folk  could  trifle  and  preserve  the  peace.  This 
fact  certain  bad  men  had  learned  to  their  hurt 
west  of  the  Gila,  and  divers  evil-disposed  per- 
sons regretted  and  were  buried,  and  regretted 
and  remembered  south  of  the  Pecos.  So  that 
in  time  this  matter  came  to  be  regarded  as  a 
peculiarity,  and  passed  into  common  respect  as 
is  the  way  with  the  peculiarities  of  those  expe- 
ditious spirits  who  shoot  first  and  explain  after- 
wards. 

The  Governor  was  aroused  from  his  reverie 
by  his  private  secretary  who  came  in  at  this 
moment  from  the  outer  office. 


6  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Governor,"  said  the  young  man,  "  there 
is  a  strike  at  the  Big  Injin." 

"  Well,"  replied  the  Executive,  "  telegraph 
the  sheriff." 

"  But,"  said  the  Secretary,  "  the  sheriff  has 
just  telegraphed  us." 

"  Then,"  continued  the  Executive,  "  send 
a  courier  to  Colonel  Shiraf . ' ' 

"  But  Colonel  Shiraf  is  out  on  the  Ten 
Mile." 

"  In  that  case,"  said  the  Governor,  "  you 
must  go  up  to  the  mines,  and  if  the  dignity  of 
the  Commonwealth  needs  to  be  maintained, 
you  will  maintain  it,  Dave.  You  should  find 
some  troops  at  the  post,  some  herders  at  the 
cattle  ranch,  and  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
State  Guards,  by  this  time  quite  drunk,  at  a 
horse  fair  in  Garfield  County.  If  they  are  re- 
quired, notify  me." 

As  the  secretary  turned  to  leave  the  room, 
the  Governor  called  him  back.  "  Dave,  my 
boy,"  he  said,  "  peace  in  this  Commonwealth 
is  a  sacred  thing — a  superlatively  sacred  thing, 
so  sacred  that  we  are  going  to  have  it  if  thereby 
the  word  '  census '  becomes  a  meaningless 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  7 

term ;  and  remember,  my  boy,  that  the  State 
is  very  expeditious." 

The  secretary  went  out  and  closed  the  door 
behind  him,  while  His  Excellency,  Alfred  Cap- 
land  Randal,  forgetting  the  report,  turned  back 
to  the  window.  The  air  from  the  great  brown 
plain  came  up  dry  and  hot;  above  the  blue 
mountains  the  sun  looked  like  a  splotch  of 
bloody  red,  and  over  it  all  brooded  the  mo- 
notonous— the  almost  hopeless  silence  of  the 
far  Southwest. 

The  something  on  the  Governor's  mind  was 
a  something  of  grave  import,  for  which  he 
could  evidently  find  no  solution,  and  presently 
he  began  to  pace  the  length  of  his  private  office 
with  long  strides,  and  with  his  hands  thrust 
deep  into  his  pockets. 

Suddenly  the  door  opened  and  a  Chinaman 
entered  with  a  telegram.  The  Governor  looked 
up  sharply,  and  taking  the  envelope  tore  it 
open  with  evident  unconcern.  When  his  eyes 
ran  over  the  message  he  drew  in  a  deep  breath, 
and,  seating  himself  at  a  table,  spread  out  the 
paper  before  him.  This  was  the  advent  of  the 
unexpected,  for  which  Mr.  Randal  was  not 


8  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

quite  prepared,  and  this  his  manner  exhibited 
to  such  a  degree  that  the  stolid  Celestial  won- 
dered vaguely  what  was  up  with  the  big  foreign 
devil. 

"  Our  train  stops  at  El  Paso,"  ran  the  tele- 
gram, "  you  will  come  up,  won't  you? — M.  L." 

The  Governor  stroked  his  Van  Dyke  beard, 
and  the  fine  lines  came  out  on  his  face.  "  Of 
all  times,"  he  muttered.  Then  he  turned  to 
the  Chinaman.  "  Have  my  overcoat  at  the 
depot  at  six.  I  am  going  to  El  Paso,  and 
shall  not  return  until  late." 

The  Chinaman  vanished,  and  the  Executive 
crushed  the  telegram  in  his  hands,  thrust  it 
into  his  pocket,  and  resumed  his  march  up 
and  down  the  private  office. 

This  Governor  was  the  crowning  achieve- 
ment of  a  machine.  He  was  the  elder  son  of 
an  ancient  family  in  Massachusetts,  and  had 
been  reared  and  educated  in  an  atmosphere 
of  culture.  It  had  been  the  intention  of  his 
family  to  have  him  succeed  his  father  with  the 
practice  of  the  law,  but  the  plans  of  men  are 
subject  to  innumerable  perils,  and  it  soon  de- 
veloped that  young  Mr.  Randal  was  not  at 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  9 

all  adapted  to  the  duties  of  a  barrister.  In- 
deed it  was  very  early  apparent  that  nature  had 
intended  this  man  for  the  precarious  vagaries 
of  a  public  life.  He  was  magnetic,  generous, 
with  a  splendid  presence,  and  the  careless, 
speculative  spirit  of  a  gambler.  In  truth,  Al- 
fred Capland  Randal  was  a  politician  per  se. 
While  in  college  he  had  been  a  restless  element, 
injecting  the  principles  of  practical  policy  into 
everything  he  touched,  from  the  Greek-letter 
fraternities  to  the  examinations  in  Tacitus, 
and  all  with  such  reckless,  jovial  abandon  that 
divers  sage  members  of  the  faculty  speculated 
with  much  wonder  as  to  which  particular 
penal  institution  would  be  his  ultimate  do- 
micile. 

At  times  the  elder  Randal  had  been  sum- 
moned to  attend  these  grave  sittings  of  the 
faculty,  and  straightway  thereafter  the  rigid 
New  England  lawyer  had  lectured  his  son  at 
great  length  and  with  bitter  invective,  to 
which  the  young  man  attended  in  a  fashion 
that  was  amiable,  and  immediately  disregarded 
in  a  fashion  that  was  equally  amiable.  Thus 
in  the  Puritanic  bosom  of  the  father  the  conclu- 


IO  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

sion  grew  and  fattened  and  matured  that  the 
eldest  scion  of  his  house  was  an  entirely  worth- 
less scapegrace,  while  the  son  was  quite  as 
certain  that  his  father  was  a  very  sincere,  but 
an  entirely  misguided  old  gentleman. 

The  result  of  these  divergent  opinions  was 
that  on  a  certain  June  evening  young  Randal 
sat  down  upon  a  bench  in  the  park  of  his 
father's  country  place  with  the  express  pur- 
pose of  planning  his  career.  Out  of  the  con- 
fidence of  youth  he  determined  upon  two 
ultimate  results.  One  was,  of  course,  wealth, 
and  the  other  was  an  elaborate  and  entirely 
proper  wedding  ceremony  with  a  certain  Miss 
Marion  Lanmar.  This  young  lady,  Randal 
had  met  at  a  football  game  at  Harvard,  and 
afterward  in  New  York,  where  she  resided  with 
her  aunt,  Mrs.  Hester  Beaufort. 

The  gigantic  confidence  of  youth  is  certainly 
a  matter  of  sublime  wonder  to  the  gods.  One 
at  all  familiar  with  the  ways  of  things  would 
have  at  once  pronounced  both  results  quite  im- 
possible to  the  improvident  young  man.  But 
from  the  standpoint  of  exuberant  youth  there 
seemed  to  be  no  important  obstacles  except 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  1 1 

the  possible  delay,  and  this  was  not  very  ma- 
terial, as  the  world  was  young  and  these  were 
things  to  be  had  in  the  farther  future. 

For  the  present,  Randal  determined  to  organ- 
ize a  political  machine  and  transport  it  into 
one  of  the  remote  Western  States.  The  East 
offered  no  theatre  for  his  talents ;  it  was  closely 
organized  ;  its  political  machinery  was  too 
strong  for  him  to  hope  to  oppose  it.  He  would 
be  crushed  out  in  the  first  skirmish. 

Nor  could  he  hope  for  early  recognition  by 
allying  himself  to  any  one  of  the  established 
organizations.  These  were  crowded  with  de- 
serving men,  and  besides,  he  had  no  intention 
of  serving  as  a  political  apprentice.  He  had 
ability,  he  believed,  as  a  political  strategist, 
and  he  proposed  to  operate  free  and  untram- 
melled in  a  big,  breezy  arena. 

Having  determined  upon  a  course,  young 
Randal  at  once  proceeded  to  put  it  into  opera- 
tion. He  held  a  council  of  war  at  the  Plaza 
on  Fifth  Avenue  with  two  of  his  college  associ- 
ates, a  stranded  gambler,  called  for  conven- 
ience "  Billy  the  Plunger,"  and  an  old  Virginia 
gentleman  named  Major  Culverson.  The 


12  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

council  sat  in  secret  session  for  three  days, 
and  the  result  was  that  the  machine  moved 
out  into  the  Commonwealth  of  Idaho,  and 
began  to  operate.  But  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  West  were  varied  and  mystic,  and 
with  the  following  summer  the  machine,  badly 
shaken,  moved  over  into  Nevada.  Here,  at 
Tulasco,  on  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  the 
first  college  man  deserted  and,  helped  by  his 
father,  returned  with  great  penitence  to  the 
civilized  East. 

The  machine  passed  on  across  the  Humbolt 
River  and  proceeded  to  attempt  to  shape  the 
political  destinies  of  Nevada.  But  disaster 
was  following  in  its  wake,  and,  after  an  active 
and  turbulent  but  quite  unprofitable  career  of 
a  few  months,  it  moved  southward,  battered 
and  beaten,  but  unconquered. 

On  the  night  of  the  third  of  October,  the 
machine  tramped  into  Hackberry,  on  the 
Southern  Pacific,  and  while  men  slept,  the 
second  college  man,  concealing  himself  in  a 
freight  car,  set  out  for  the  Atlantic  coast,  curs- 
ing with  lurid  language  all  that  part  of  the 
continent  lying  west  of  the  Mississippi. 


The  Governor's  Machine.  1 3 

On  the  following  morning  the  machine  held 
its  second  great  council,  but  this  time  it  sat  in 
desperate  conclave  above  the  Cow-Punchers' 
Saloon  in  the  town  of  Hackberry,  facing  a 
condition  and  not  a  theory.  But  three  mem- 
bers remained — Randal,  the  dauntless  Culver- 
son,  and  Billy  the  Plunger. 

The  gambler  was  for  organizing  a  faro  bank, 
and  working  the  towns  down  the  Gila,  but  as 
the  bank  had  no  funds,  and  the  death  rate 
usually  attendant  upon  such  ventures  in  this 
primitive  country  was  enormous,  his  plan  was 
held  impracticable,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  he  ceased  to  urge  the  wisdom  of  his 
scheme,  and  after  having  announced  with  great 
solemnity  that  he  was  game  to  any  limit  the 
gang  wanted,  he  lapsed  into  the  capacity  of  a 
spectator. 

The  Major  advised  moving  south  into  Mex- 
ico, but  as  he  seemed  to  have  no  definite  idea 
of  what  should  be  done  when  Mexico  was 
reached,  and  it  finally  appearing  that  moving 
south  was  simply  a  fad  with  Culverson,  the 
plan  was  likewise  abandoned. 

Young  Randal,  fired  by  his  unabated  pur- 


14  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

pose,  urged  the  wisdom  of  trying  a  round  with 
the  political  fortunes  of  Arizona,  but  it  was 
demonstrated  that  he  was  considering  a  major 
venture,  having  for  its  object  huge  honor, 
while  at  present  there  was  crying  need  for 
some  minor  venture  that  would  probably  result 
in  the  necessaries  of  life  and  a  few  hundred 
dollars.  Accordingly,  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  the  machine  decided  to  assume,  for 
a  time,  the  vocation  of  the  cattle  herder,  and 
accept  employment  with  a  certain  stock  king 
of  New  Mexico. 

It  was  understood,  however,  that  this  digres- 
sion should  be  temporary,  and  should  be 
abandoned  just  as  soon  as  the  machine  should 
feel  able  to  resume  its  original  purpose.  It 
was  at  this  point  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
conclave  that  Major  Culverson  made  his  famous 
statement,  to  wit,  that  the  gates  of  hell  could 
not  ultimately  prevail  against  a  political  ma- 
chine composed  of  a  Massachusetts  Yankee,  a 
dead-game  sport,  and  an  old  Virginia  gentle- 
man. 

From  this  time  forth  the  career  of  Randal's 
machine  was  a  concatenation  of  fortunes  and 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  1 5 

misfortunes,  principally  the  latter,  quite  in- 
credible. But  the  three  men  clung  together, 
and  a  single  enthusiastic  purpose  is  a  marvel- 
lous motor  power,  so  that  when  Fate  finally 
lent  a  helping  hand,  the  machine  became  a 
something  of  importance  in  the  affairs  of  a 
Southwestern  Commonwealth.  Once  on  the 
upward  way,  the  ability  of  Randal  and  the 
daring  energies  of  his  associates  carried  it  for- 
ward with  great  strides,  so  great  that  on  the 
evening  of  the  day  with  which  this  history  has 
to  do,  the  Massachusetts  Yankee  was  the  Gov- 
ernor of  a  State,  the  Major  was  Auditor,  and 
Billy  the  Plunger,  now  known  by  his  signature 
as  Ambercrombie  Hergan,  was  Secretary  of 
State. 

The  sun  had  gone  downward  from  sight  be- 
hind the  far  mountains,  now  changed  from  blue 
to  a  murky  gray.  The  Governor,  recalled  to  a 
sense  of  the  hour,  closed  his  mahogany  desk, 
locked  the  door  of  his  private  office,  and  walked 
leisurely  out  through  the  State-house.  As  he 
passed  down  the  steps  of  the  Capitol  he  met 
the  Auditor  coming  up. 

"  How  are  you,  Al  ?  "  said  the  Auditor. 


1 6  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Charmed,"  replied  the  Governor. 

"  Ah,"  said  the  Major,  with  great  ceremony, 
"  you  may  be  charmed,  sir,  but  to  me,  sir, 
your  face  wears  the  haunted  look  of  one  who 
holds  three  nines  against  what  he  strongly  sus- 
pects to  be  a  pat  hand." 

"  Sage,"  said  the  Governor,  bowing,  "  I 
tremble  for  my  hidden  thoughts." 

"  You  're  a  fool,"  said  the  Major,  stepping 
up  beside  the  Executive.  "  I  want  to  know 
where  you  are  going. ' ' 

"  I!  "  said  the  Governor,  "  I  am  going  to 
the  southeast.  Do  you  see  that  little  railroad  ? 
I  am  even  now  about  to  commit  myself  to  its 
irresponsible  mercies." 

'  You  must  not  go,  Al,"  continued  the 
Auditor.  "  Attend,  I  will  nominate  the 
reasons.  First,  there  is  a  julep  party  at  my 
palatial  residence. ' ' 

"  Insufficient,"  said  the  Governor. 

"  Second,  there  is  a  strike  at  the  Big  Injin." 

"  Insufficient,"  said  the  Governor. 

"  And  third,"  continued  the  Auditor,  lower- 
ing his  voice,  "  Honorable  Ambercrombie  Her- 
gan  is  at  this  very  hour  in  the  second  room  of 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  1 7 

Crawley's  Emporium,  playing  the  taxes  of 
Bolas  County,  and  losing  them,  sir,  losing 
them." 

The  Governor's  face  grew  hard,  and  his  re- 
marks for  a  moment  were  quite  unprintable. 
Then  he  turned  to  the  Auditor. 

"  Ned,"  he  continued,  "  you  must  get  him 
out,  and  take  him  up  to  my  residence.  I  will 
be  here  by  ten  o'clock.  I  am  compelled  to  go 
to  El  Paso.  I  can't  get  out  of  it.  I  am  com- 
pelled to  go." 

"  Compelled?  "  ejaculated  the  Major,  "  who, 
in  the  name  of  all  the  living  gods,  is  compel- 
ling you  ?  He  must  be  greater  than  the  rail- 
roads, greater  than  the  legislature,  greater  than 
the  Federal  Court.  Compelling  the  Honorable 
Alfred  Capland  Randal  ?  Shade  of  the  bloom- 
ing Witch  of  Endor!  " 

"  Ned,"  said  the  Governor  slowly,  "  I  will 
explain  it  all  just  as  soon  as  I  can.  In  the 
meantime  you  must  help  me.  You  must  get 
him  out.  Won't  you,  Ned  ?  " 

The  Governor  put  his  hand  on  the  Auditor's 
shoulder,  just  as  he  had  done  a  thousand  times 
before  when  he  needed  the  help  of  this  unusual 


1 8  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

man.  And,  just  as  he  had  done  a  thousand 
times  before,  the  Major  declared  that  the  Ex- 
ecutive was  a  "  damned  rascal  "  and  a  "  no 
account  youngster,"  and  that  he  would  not  do 
it,  when  all  the  time  he  knew  deep  down  in 
his  heart  that  he  loved  this  straight  young 
fellow  better  than  any  other  thing  in  the 
world,  and  that  presently  he  was  going  to  do 
exactly  what  he  said  he  would  not  do. 

The  Governor  knew  this  also,  for  he  ran 
down  the  steps  without  stopping  to  interrupt 
the  amiable  flow  of  the  Auditor's  depreciatory 
remarks. 

At  the  depot  he  found  the  Chinaman,  Bum- 
garner,  waiting  with  his  coat. 

That  such  a  primitive  Celestial  should  be 
saddled  with  such  a  name  arose  entirely  from 
the  pious  instincts  of  the  Major.  It  happened 
that  the  Virginian  was  standing  in  a  crowd  at 
the  corner  near  Crawley's  Emporium  when  the 
Chinaman  first  appeared,  having  tramped  from 
the  coast.  The  Major,  who  was  slightly  in  his 
cups,  called  the  Chinaman  over  to  the  corner, 
and  inquired  by  what  appellation  he  was 
known,  to  which  the  foreigner  responded  that 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  19 

he  was  called  Fu  Lun.  "  Fu  Lun!  "  shouted 
the  Major,  fiercely,  "  a  name  smackihg  of  the 
devil,  and  not  to  be  tolerated  in  a  Christian 
State."  And  then  turning  to  the  crowd, 
"  Gentlemen,"  he  continued,  "  behold!  I  do 
a  goodly  missionary  work.  I  rebuke  the  evil 
spirit  dwelling  in  the  bosom  of  this  heathen. 
I  give  it  a  Christian  name.  I  name  it  Bum- 
garner." 

Thus  the  first  evidence  of  civilization  fast- 
ened upon  the  Celestial,  and,  as  the  Major's 
mandate  was  not  to  be  disregarded,  as  "  Bum- 
garner  "  the  Chinaman  had  gone. 

The  journey  to  El  Paso  was  not  an  idle  one 
for  the  Governor.  In  a  very  short  time  he 
should  be  in  the  presence  of  Miss  Marion 
Lanmar  and  her  aunt  Mrs.  Beaufort,  and,  of 
all  times  since  their  first  eventful  meeting,  this 
was  the  very  time  he  was  not  prepared  for  an 
interview.  Prior  to  the  notable  exodus  of  the 
machine  to  Idaho,  Randal  had  called  upon 
Miss  Lanmar,  who  was  at  that  time  a  very 
young  woman  in  college.  The  two  were  quite 
important,  quite  enthusiastic,  and  pitiably 
ignorant  of  the  world's  ways. 


2O  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

This  last  meeting  to  them  seemed  big  with 
fate,  and  was  dramatic  to  the  limit  of  a  play- 
actor's rehearsal.  Youth  lent  to  it  all  the 
glamour  of  romance.  To  Miss  Lanmar  young 
Randal  was  her  chivalrous  knight-errant,  on 
the  eve  of  his  departure  into  a  wild  and  un- 
known land  full  of  mysterious  peril,  in  quest  of 
wealth  and  fair  fame,  all  for  her.  To  Randal 
she  was  the  Lily  Maid  of  Astolat,  whom  it  was 
fate  that  he  should  worship  with  noble  deeds 
until  he  won.  It  was  all  in  strict  accord  with 
romantic  custom  in  such  cases  made  and  pro- 
vided, and  terminated  quite  in  keeping  with 
the  ideal  conventions. 

When  the  door  had  closed  upon  the  hand- 
some young  fellow  whom  Miss  Marion  Lanmar 
had  promised  to  love  for  ever  more,  that  young 
lady  remained  standing  motionless  by  the 
mantel  shelf,  her  face  very  white,  and  her 
heart  very  desperate  and  very  true.  To  the 
dainty  Miss  Lanmar  it  was  all  very  real,  and 
by  no  means  the  pretty  little  comedy  which 
the  world  out  of  its  practical  wisdom  would 
have  known  it  to  be. 

To  Mr.  Alfred  Randal,  as  he  passed  down 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  2 1 

the  steps  of  Mrs.  Beaufort's  residence  on  the 
avenue,  the  world  was  now  a  vast  arena,  into 
which  he  was  going,  armed  and  knighted  with 
his  lady's  colors  on  his  helm.  His  heart  beat 
high  in  his  bosom.  He  would  be  a  factor  in 
great  affairs;  the  hour  would  come  when  he 
would  return,  famous,  wealthy  past  belief,  an- 
nounced by  the  heralds.  He  could  not  know 
that  he  was  but  another  character  in  that  sweet 
old  fairy  story  which  men  and  women  have 
striven  to  act  over  and  over  again  before  they 
learn  with  dumb  horror  how  pitiless  and  how 
practical  are  the  ways  of  Providence. 

Yet  the  wise  man  who  accompanies  the 
youth  to  the  gateway  of  the  arena  will  not  say : 
"  To-morrow  Circumstance  will  beat  you  from 
your  horse  and  tramp  you  under,  and  instead 
of  returning  victor,  you  will  return  a  cripple." 
Although  the  wise  man  knows  full  well  that  of 
all  results  this  latter  is  most  probable,  yet  he 
will  not  say  it,  because  the  enthusiasm  of  youth 
is  a  marvellous  power,  difficult  to  estimate,  and 
what  it  may  accomplish  no  man  can  tell. 

The  Governor  had  not  seen  this  young 
woman  after  that  night,  but  he  had  clung  to 


22  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

his  intention  with  the  determination  of  a  man 
who  has  a  single  object  in  life.  An  intermit- 
tent correspondence  had  been  maintained,  but 
after  years  this  intention  to  wed  Miss  Lanmar 
had  become  rather  an  ideal  something,  and  in 
this  there  was  peril.  But  a  few  weeks  before, 
he  had  intimated  vaguely,  that  he  was  now  a 
person  of  some  local  importance,  and  with  no 
inconsiderable  prospects  of  wealth,  and  to  this 
Miss  Lanmar  had  intimated  quite  as  vaguely 
that  she  was  waiting.  But  in  it  all  there 
seemed  to  be  a  powerful,  albeit  somewhat  in- 
distinct doubt.  Years  had  passed,  and  years 
had  a  way  of  working  frightful  changes  in 
people.  The  Miss  Lanmar  of  to-day  could 
not  be  the  school-girl  whom  he  had  known. 

The  Executive  leaned  back  in  a  seat  of  the 
stuffy  little  coach  and  speculated  with  grave 
concern.  At  any  rate,  this  alliance  was  now 
quite  impossible.  Complications  had  been 
thrust  in ;  a  duty,  or  what  he  conceived  to  be 
a  duty,  had  sprung  up,  and  this  duty  it  was 
not  his  intention  to  evade. 


II 


TH  E  Governor  walked  gravely  down  the  long 
platform  at  El  Paso,  looking  up  at  the 
windows  of  the  Pullmans,  wondering,  rather  in- 
distinctly, how  he  should  be  able  to  recognize 
the  irridescent  princess  of  his  romantic  youth. 
A  negro  porter  touched  him  on  the  arm  and 
inquired  if  he  was  Governor  Randal.  The 
Executive  replied  that  he  was,  whereupon  the 
negro  with  much  profound  obeisance  an- 
nounced that  Miss  Lanmar  was  waiting  in  the 
drawing-room  of  the  opposite  Pullman. 

The  Governor  sprang  up  the  steps  of  the 
coach.  As  he  entered,  a  young  woman,  wear- 
ing a  dark  travelling  dress,  came  forward  to 
meet  him.  She  was  of  medium  height,  with 
heavy  brown  hair,  fine  eyes,  arched  brows,  and 
quite  a  faultless  nose.  But  the  great  charm  of 
the  woman  was  her  splendid  bearing,  and  her 
instinctive  culture. 

23 


24  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

Just  how  this  meeting  began  Alfred  Randal 
could  never  afterwards  quite  recall.  He  could 
remember  in  vivid  details  the  first  picture  of 
this  superb  woman  as  she  arose  to  greet  him, 
but  then,  just  then,  the  love  of  his  youth  that 
had  seemed  to  sleep  under  an  anaesthetic  for  so 
many  years,  suddenly  woke  into  glorious  life, 
and  gushed  into  his  heart  and  overran  his 
senses  with  its  marvellous  vitality.  What 
transpired  thereafter  was  provokingly  indis- 
tinct. He  remembered  being  presented  to 
the  aunt,  Mrs.  Beaufort,  and  her  astonish- 
ment, and  her  incredulous  query  as  to  whether 
he  lived  in  this  "  terrible  country  "  to  which  he 
had  replied  that  he  could  not  be  said  to  live, 
but  that  it  was  his  part  to  exist  in  this  rather 
primitive  land.  He  remembered  that  the  three 
sat  together  in  the  drawing-room  of  the  coach 
and  talked  of  his  return  to  New  York,  of  his 
ultimate  success,  and  his  assured  future.  He 
remembered  also  that  for  the  time  he  had  for- 
gotten the  grave  difficulty  in  the  way  of  such 
a  future  and  his  stern  decision  made  but  a  few 
minutes  before.  He  remembered  also  that 
through  it  all  he  had  been  very  foolish  and 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  25 

very  confident  and  idiotically  happy,  and  how 
at  the  parting  he  had  kissed  Miss  Lanmar's 
hand  and  blushed  like  a  school-girl,  and  then 
jumped  down  from  the  moving  train  at  the 
peril  of  his  life. 

The  Governor  stood  upon  the  platform  and 
watched  the  great  train  as  it  thundered  away 
in  the  distance.  The  interview  which  had  just 
ended,  although  a  thing  apparently  unreal, 
had  swept  him  out  from  under  the  influence  of 
an  illusion  that  had  served  to  make  his  life  in 
the  great  Southwest  bearable,  even  happy. 
From  this  time  forth  it  could  never  be  what  it 
had  been.  The  man  felt  like  one  who,  having 
been  so  long  a  captive  in  a  dungeon  that  he 
was  half  content,  and  his  memories  of  the 
world  had  become  vague  and  unreal,  is  sud- 
denly and  without  warning  lifted  into  the  sun- 
shine of  the  great  glorious  world  and  held  there 
until  his  heart  is  filled  to  drunkenness  with  the 
beauty  of  it  all,  and  then,  ruthlessly  and  on 
the  instant,  is  thrust  back  into  the  rayless 
gloom  of  his  dungeon. 

Randal  stood  for  a  time  looking  at  the  rows 
of  dim  lights  scattered  about  the  station  like 


26  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

dismal  fireflies.  Then  he  crossed  to  the  freight 
train  upon  which  he  was  to  return  and  climbed 
up  into  the  cab  with  the  driver. 

"  What  time  shall  we  get  in  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  By  the  top  of  the  night,  Governor,  if  we 
have  luck,"  answered  the  driver,  pulling  open 
the  throttle. 

The  engine  snorted  and  pounded  along  in  the 
dark  like  some  huge  beast.  The  Governor  sat 
in  the  cab  window  and  looked  out.  The  night 
air  was  sweet  and  cool,  his  face  was  hot.  Two 
hours  before  he  had  decided  what  he  should 
do,  and  dismissed  the  matter  ;  but  new  and 
powerful  elements  had  arisen  and  ordered  him 
to  rehear  and  decide  anew. 

Ambercrombie  Hergan  had  lost  and  wasted 
the  money  of  the  State.  There  was  now  a 
deficit  in  his  accounts  of  some  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  There  was  no  way  by  which  this  loss 
could  be  met  unless  Randal  should  pay  it,  and 
to  do  this  would  take  everything  he  had  on 
earth.  It  would  mean  the  sacrifice  of  his 
mining  stock,  which,  if  held,  promised  great 
returns.  It  would  be  ruin,  utter  ruin,  to  make 
good  the  loss;  yet  the  gambler,  although  a 


The  Governors  Machine.  27 

gambler,  was  his  friend,  and  two  hours  before 
he  had  not  hesitated  at  all. 

Motives,  mighty,  selfish  motives,  which 
until  this  hour  he  had  beaten  back,  now  leaped 
up,  clamoring  to  be  heard,  howling  for  time 
against  his  decision,  time  to  show  the  right  of 
their  cause,  the  wisdom  of  it,  the  ultimate 
justice  of  it.  Something  asked  him  roughly 
what  right  had  he  to  jeopardize  the  future  of 
this  woman  who  loved  him.  What  right  had 
he  to  deceive,  to  sacrifice  her  ?  Who  was 
Hergan  that  he  should  be  considered  against 
this  woman  ?  Who,  but  a  reckless  and  im- 
provident adventurer  ?  It  was  not  his  own 
happiness  urged  the  something ;  that  would  be 
a  matter  of  little  moment.  It  was  the  happi- 
ness of  another,  and  that  other  was  true,  inno- 
cent of  wrong,  superlatively  just.  What 
contrast  could  be  drawn  between  the  woman 
and  this  gambler  ?  Duty  ?  What  duty  could 
he  owe  to  the  irresponsible  Hergan  that  could 
approach  in  the  slightest  part  the  measure  of 
the  duty  which  he  owed  to  the  woman  who 
had  trusted  him  for  so  many  years,  and  waited, 
and  loved  him  ? 

Yet  against  all  this,  certain  pictures  came  up 


28  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

from  the  past, — vivid,  proclaiming  a  mighty 
truth,  a  truth  which  the  man  knew  and  ac- 
knowledged in  his  heart,  the  truth  that  if  these 
positions  were  reversed,  Hergan,  gambler 
though  he  was,  would  not  hesitate  for  a  mo- 
ment. Had  he  hesitated  that  morning  in  the 
Rio  Grande  when  Randal's  horse  had  fallen  and 
was  being  swept  down  with  the  current,  carry- 
ing his  master  under  him,  tangled  in  the  stirrup 
strap  ?  Had  he  hesitated  when  it  became 
necessary  deliberately  to  steal  and  burn  the 
bogus  ballots  in  Garfield  County,  when  to  do 
so  seemed  little  less  than  deliberate  suicide  ? 
Had  he  hesitated  that  terrible  day  on  the 
Rio  Sonora,  when  there  was  no  time  for  warn- 
ing, but  time  only  to  spring  forward  and  take 
the  knife  in  his  shoulder  ?  Had  this  man  ever 
hesitated  when  the  welfare  of  Randal  was  at 
stake  ?  Would  he  not  gladly,  and  without 
comment,  give  up  his  life  to-morrow  if  the 
Governor  should  ask  it  of  him  ? 

The  Governor  passed  his  hand  across  his 
forehead  and  closed  his  eyes.  When  he 
opened  them  he  had  decided,  and  against  this 
second  decision  there  should  be  now  no  ap- 
peal and  no  rehearing. 


Ill 

THE  Secretary  of  State  was  far  removed 
from  the  ordinary.  He  was  one  of  those 
not  infrequent  persons  whom  men  are  quite  un- 
able to  classify.  At  times  he  arose  far  beyond 
the  limits  set  for  him  by  his  associates,  and  at 
times  he  dropped  far  below.  There  was  about 
the  man  a  sort  of  indefinite  reserve  that  im- 
pressed his  fellows  and  inspired  confidence  in 
those  positions  requiring  rash  and  apparently 
impracticable  moves.  Ordinarily,  in  common- 
place affairs,  his  judgment  was  not  considered 
sound,  or  even  valuable,  and  at  such  times  no 
one  would  have  thought  for  a  moment  of  ad- 
vising with  this  man.  It  was  only  when  sound 
common-sense  could  see  no  way  out  that  the 
machine  appealed  to  Hergan,  and  at  such 
times  he  came  forward  with  some  freak  venture 
which  was  frightfully  perilous  and  never  ordin- 
ary, and  never  quite  a  failure. 
29 


30  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

Success,  usually  arose,  however,  not  from 
the  ultimate  wisdom  of  Hergan's  plans,  but 
from  the  fact  that  his  unique  move  would 
throw  the  affair  into  a  sort  of  convulsion  re- 
sulting in  a  new  situation,  and  this  new  situa- 
tion the  sound  judgment  of  his  fellows  would 
usually  be  able  to  control.  The  counsel  of 
Ambercrombie  Hergan  was  a  protean  agent. 

The  grave  vice  in  the  character  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  lay  in  the  fact  that  he  possessed 
no  idea  of  perspective.  He  would  wager  his 
last  dollar  with  the  same  joyous  unconcern  with 
which  he  had  wagered  his  first,  and  he  would 
have  staked  the  entire  Southwest,  if  he  pos- 
sessed it,  as  readily  as  a  Mexican  peso,  upon 
the  turn  of  a  card  or  the  result  of  a  horse  race. 
As  to  the  antecedents  of  the  Honorable  Am- 
bercrombie Hergan,  even  conjecture  was  silent. 
He  had  come  up  from  a  mysterious  substratum 
of  New  York, — for  what,  and  by  reason  of 
what,  no  man  inquired.  This  mighty  new 
land  traced  no  records  and  propounded  no 
questions.  The  arena  stood  open  with  its 
doors  thrown  back.  Any  combatant  who 
pleased  could  enter.  Heralded  or  unheralded, 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  31 

it  mattered  not.  Good  or  bad,  learned  or 
ignorant,  of  yokel  blood  or  princely  lineage,  it 
mattered  not.  If  he  were  fittest,  he  could  win. 

From  this  organic  defect  of  his  mental  build, 
and  not  from  evil  animus,  had  resulted  the  sad 
state  of  the  Secretary's  accounts.  He  had 
never  entirely  appreciated  the  important  dis- 
tinction between  his  own  money  and  that 
which  belonged  to  the  Commonwealth.  He 
had  been  thoughtless,  reckless,  unconcerned, 
until  now  he  was  hopelessly  involved.  Yet 
even  at  this  stage  when  his  term  of  office  was 
fast  drawing  to  a  close,  he  failed  to  appreciate 
the  gravity  of  his  position,  and  treated  the 
matter  with  good-natured  unconcern,  as  of  no 
moment. 

The  Auditor  and  Secretary  of  State  sat 
together  in  the  Governor's  library  awaiting 
his  return.  In  appearance  the  Auditor  was  a 
muscular  little  man  of  most  marvellous  vitality, 
with  a  fierce  white  mustache,  and  a  fund  of 
quaint  oaths  and  semi-dramatic  phrases  hugely 
expressive  and  at  times  artistic  ;  while  the 
Honorable  Ambercrombie  Hergan  was  very  tall 
and  very  broad,  with  a  shock  of  heavy  black 


32  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

hair,  wide  jaws,  and  a  big  crooked  nose.  Far 
back  in  his  youth  this  nose  had  been  straight, 
but  one  night,  in  a  barroom  on  the  Bowery,  a 
difference  of  opinion  had  arisen  over  some 
inconsequential  matter,  and  thereafter  the 
gambler's  nose  had  assumed  a  contour  not 
contemplated  in  the  original  design. 

The  Major  was  talking,  and  pounding  the 
table  vigorously,  when  the  Chinese  servant 
entered  with  a  tray  and  some  glasses.  The 
Virginian  drew  himself  up  and  stepped  back 
from  the  table. 

"  Well,  Bumgarner,"  he  said,  "  I  hail  your 
resurrection;  I  glory  in  your  return  to  life. 
You  have  been  dead  no  inconsiderable  period, 
sir." 

The  Chinaman  replied  that  he  had  been  en- 
gaged in  a  laborious  but  unsuccessful  hunt  for 
the  bottle  of  Angostura  bitters. 

"Angostura  bitters?"  cried  the  Major, 
"  marvellous,  inscrutable  heathen!  Will  you 
deign  to  reveal  your  reason  for  requiring  the 
Angostura  bitters  ?  " 

The  Celestial  responded  that  he  presumed 
bitters  was  an  element  requisite  to  the  rather 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  33 

mysterious  drink  which  he  had  been  requested 
to  compound. 

"Hear  him,  hear  him!"  thundered  the 
Major,  as  though  addressing  some  present  but 
invisible  avenging  demon;  "  hear  the  vandal  ! 
Bitters  in  a  julep!  Mighty,  intelligent  shade 
of  Simple  Simon!  Attend  and  observe  the 
idiocy  of  this  savage!"  Then  he  crossed  to 
the  astonished  Chinaman  and  took  him  gently 
by  the  collar. 

"Bumgarner,"  he  said  softly,  "  you  are  a 
frightful  example  of  man's  neglect.  You  have 
been  trained  by  a  Massachusetts  Yankee. 
Ergo,  your  lack  of  knowledge  is  sublime. 
Bitters  you  might  put  in  a  plebeian  gin  fizz, 
and  be  happy  thereafter.  Bitters  you  might 
put  in  a  high  ball  of  whiskey,  and  live  there- 
after. But  bitters  in  a  julep,  magnum  sacrum  ! 
the  gods  would  crush  you  !  Bumgarner,  you 
are  an  awful  throbbing  error,  and  you  have 
had  a  providential  escape  from  death.  Now," 
continued  the  Major,  seizing  the  Chinaman  by 
the  shoulder  and  turning  him  toward  the  door, 
"  you  may  depart,  and  burn  a  few  joss  sticks, 
and  ponder  upon  my  remarks." 

3 


34  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

The  almond-eyed  Celestial  vanished,  won- 
dering vaguely  if  it  had  not  been  better  to  re- 
main in  San  Francisco  and  laundry  shirts  in  a 
cellar  than  to  attempt  to  cater  to  the  depraved 
taste  of  such  incomprehensible  foreign  devils. 

"  Now,  Bill,"  continued  the  Major,  seating 
himself  at  the  table,  "  I  want  to  know  what 
you  are  going  to  do." 

"  About  what  ?  "  asked  the  gambler. 

"  About  this  money  which  you  owe  the 
State,"  said  the  Major.  "  Do  you  realize, 
sir,  that  our  stand  in  the  Southwest  is  just 
about  closing,  and  that  we  have  got  to  square 
up  and  pull  out  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  so,"  replied  the  gambler,  as 
though  it  were  a  matter  of  no  importance. 

"  You  reckon  so!  You  irresponsible  truck 
horse!  You  reckon  so!"  snorted  the  Major. 
"  You  will  cease  to  indulge  in  the  dainty  pas- 
time of  speculation  when  you  get  a  log-chain 
on  your  leg  and  a  striped  suit  on  your  back." 

The  Secretary  of  State  laughed.  "  Some- 
thing will  turn  up,"  he  said. 

"  Ambercrombie  Hergan,"  said  the  Major, 
pounding  the  table  with  his  hand,  "  for  a 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  35 

broken,  a  branded,  a  long-suffering  cow  pony 
of  Satan,  you  have  the  blindest,  most  stupen- 
dous Presbyterian  faith  in  Providence  of  any 
white  creature  ambling  south  of  the  Central 
Pacific  Railroad ;  but  you  're  sweetening  on  a 
bluff  this  hand,  and  I  am  going  to  call  you." 

The  gambler's  face  grew  serious.  '  What 
are  you  prodding  for,  Ned  ?  "  he  asked. 

The  Auditor  leaned  forward  on  the  table. 
"  You  are  planning  to  slide  out,"  he  said, 
"and  it  don't  go." 

"Would  it  hurt  you  or  Al  ? "  asked  the 
gambler  anxiously. 

The  Auditor  reached  over  and  placed  his 
hand  on  Hergan's  arm.  "  It  would  not  hurt 
me,"  he  continued,  "  and  it  would  be  no 
bones  if  it  did,  but  it  would  hurt  the  boy,  and 
he  must  not  be  hurt.  Don't  you  know  that 
the  moment  you  are  gone,  Randal  will  sacrifice 
everything  he  possesses  and  pay  up  the  deficit  ? 
And  that  would  ruin  him." 

The  gambler's  face  lengthened.  "  I  had 
not  thought  about  that,"  he  said  slowly,  "  but 
you  are  right,  he  would  do  that.  He  is  that 
sort  of  a  man.  I  have  been  a  fool,  an  infernal 


36  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

fool,  but  I  did  not  think  about  the  boy  getting 
hurt,  not  once."  The  man  shut  his  teeth 
tight  together  and  the  big  muscles  swelled  out 
on  his  jaws. 

The  Auditor  sat  and  watched  the  man  across 
the  table  from  him,  and  admired  his  iron  nerve 
in  the  terrible  struggle  to  decide  between  him- 
self and  the  welfare  of  his  friend.  The  man 
was  evidently  suffering.  His  face  showed  it 
plainly ;  the  battle  must  be  a  bitter  one.  The 
Auditor  wondered  how  it  would  result.  He 
pitied  the  man,  and  in  spite  of  all,  half  hoped 
that  he  would  decide  to  save  himself. 

Presently  the  gambler  turned  slowly  and 
lifted  his  face,  white,  haggard,  ten  years  older 
than  he  had  been  an  hour  before. 

"  I  don't  see  how  to  keep  him  from  doing 
it,"  he  muttered;  "  I  don't  see  how." 

The  Auditor  started.  This  man  had  not 
been  thinking  of  himself  at  all. 

"  You  see,"  continued  Hergan.  "  I  am 
about  fifty  thousand  short,  and  there  is  no  way 
to  raise  that  much  money, — no  way  in  God's 
world.  If  I  slide  over  the  Rio,  Al  will  pay  it 
to  keep  them  from  extraditing  me;  and  if  I 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  37 

stay  here,  he  will  pay  it  to  keep  them  from 
sending  me  to  the  Pen.  It  's  the  devil's  own 
trap,  and  works  both  ways." 

"Who  got  the  money,  Bill?"  asked  the 
Auditor. 

"  Crawley,  and  old  Martin,  of  the  Golden 
Horn  Mining  Company.  Crawley  got  most 
of  it." 

"  A  plague  of  fat  old  gamblers,"  said  the 
Major,  solemnly;  "  they  are  both  as  rich  as 
they  are  mean,  and  as  mean  as  they  are 
crooked." 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened  and  the 
Governor  entered. 


IV 


THE  Executive  stopped  for  a  moment  and 
scrutinized  his  visitors  quizzically;  then 
he  laughed.  "  May  I  inquire,  gentlemen, 
whence  arises  this  gloom  ?" 

The  Auditor  bowed  low.  "  Good  sir,"  he 
said,  "  your  Excellency  fails  to  distinguish  be- 
tween gloom  and  the  gravity  of  sages." 

"If  the  funereal,"  replied  the  Governor, 
"  be  a  sine  qua  non  of  the  converse  of  the  wise, 
then  there  has  been  here  this  night  great  cause 
for  envy  on  the  part  of  Solomon,  the  Son  of 
David,  King  of  Israel ;  for  such  gloom  I  have 
not  met  with  in  a  world  of  evil  days." 

"  And,  sir,"  responded  the  Auditor,  waving 
his  hand  like  a  barbaric  king,  "  if  absence  of 
respect  for  the  dignity  of  the  thoughtful  be  a 
symptom  of  organic  mental  defect,  then  there 
is  now  here,  in  truth,  great  cause  for  envy 
upon  the  part  of  Wamba,  the  Son  of  Witless, 
38 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  39 

the  Son  of  Weatherbrain.     For  such  amiable 
impudence  is  marvellous  to  contemplate." 

'  Boys,"  said  the  gambler  rising,  "  if  you 
will  kindly  come  down  out  of  the  clouds,  I 
will  be  much  obliged  to  you  both,  because  I 
have  got  something  to  say,  and  this  is  just  as 
good  a  time  to  say  it  as  any." 

The  Auditor  resumed  his  seat  at  the  table. 
The  Governor  took  up  a  chair,  moved  it  back 
deliberately  into  the  shadow  of  the  room  and 
sat  down. 

"It  is  like  this,"  continued  the  gambler, 
"  we  three  have  stood  in  for  a  long  time,  and 
I  guess  we  know  each  other  pretty  well.  We 
did  n't  take  no  oath  to  stand  by  each  other 
when  we  started,  but  I  reckon  that  is  what  we 
calculated  to  do.  Anyway  that  is  what  we  did 
do.  If  we  had  n't  a  done  it,  we  would  n't  have 
been  deuce  high  in  this  Southwest.  I  did  n't 
have  no  faith  in  Al's  machine  when  it  started ; 
I  thought  it  was  a  wild  goose  chase,  but  I 
did  n't  say  nothing,  because  I  had  nothing  to 
lose.  I  was  broke,  and  anything  coming  my 
way  was  pure  velvet,  so  I  joined  in  and  come 
out  here. 


4O  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Since  that  time  we  have  had  our  ups  and 
downs,  if  God's  creatures  ever  had  'em.  We 
have  lied  a  lot,  and  we  've  stole  some,  and 
we  've  starved  most  of  the  time,  and  we  have 
been  poor  and  miserable  and  broke,  but  we 
have  played  fair  with  each  other,  and  we  have 
never  stacked  the  pack  nor  dealt  from  the  bot- 
tom. Then,  one  day,  the  luck  turned  and  we 
won  out  through  the  roof,  just  like  it  always 
does  if  you  stay  long  enough  and  keep  doub- 
ling the  bet.  You  two  were  elected,  and  Al 
appointed  me. 

' '  I  reckon  none  of  us  are  going  to  forget  the 
hell  that  appointment  raised.  They  said  I  was 
an  ignorant  understrapper,  a  short-card  gam- 
bler, and  a  leary  element;  and  it  was  true, 
every  blooming  word  of  it  Then  the  news- 
papers pitched  into  Al ;  they  said  that  it  was 
to  be  hoped  that  the  new  Governor  would  now 
have  '  the  moral  courage  to  at  least  suppress 
the  shady  member  of  his  machine  ' — them  are 
the  very  words;  I  '11  never  forget  'em,  and 
they  meant  me. 

"  I  guess  I  went  to  you  boys,  and  told  you 
I  had  better  keep  out,  but  I  reckon  I  did  n't 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  41 

put  up  a  very  stiff  case,  because  I  was  hot  at 
the  row.  I  would  n't  have  cared  if  the  howlers 
had  been  better  men  than  I  was,  but  I  knew 
they  were  all  just  the  same  kind  of  cattle — un- 
branded,  straggling  steers,  gathered  up  from 
anywhere  but  a  good  place.  As  for  being 
shady,  there  was  n't  a  man  between  the  Gila 
and  the  Pecos  white  enough  to  pass  an  Eastern 
grand  jury,  and  as  for  being  a  gambler,  there 
was  n't  a  mother's  son  of  the  batch  that 
would  n't  have  coppered  his  soul  on  a  black 
jack  if  the  bank  would  have  cashed  it  for  a 
dollar." 

Hergan  paused  for  a  moment  and  looked  at 
the  Auditor.  Then  he  added,  "  Exceptin'  of 
course,  you  and  Al. " 

"  Then,"  the  gambler  went  on: "  I  guess  Al 
got  mad.  He  made  a  little  speech ;  we  was  all 
there,  and  it  was  mighty  good  talk  to  hear. 
He  said  there  had  n't  been  no  '  invidious  dis- 
tinctions ' — them  were  his  words, — during  all 
the  years  when  nothing  had  come  our  way  but 
just  one  dose  of  bad  luck  after  another  until 
we  reckoned  there  was  n't  no  God  at  all, — least 
ways,  if  there  was  any,  that  He  did  n't  operate 


42  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

south  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  and  now 
when  we  had  finally  landed  on  our  feet,  there 
was  n't  going  to  be  no  '  invidious  distinctions.' 
I  am  bound  to  say  that  it  seemed  mighty  good 
to  hear  Al  talk  like  he  did,  and  I  went  ahead 
and  let  him  appoint  me." 

The  Secretary  of  State  moved  a  little  nearer 
to  the  table,  and  an  almost  imperceptible 
shadow  flitted  across  his  face.  "  All  the 
time,"  he  continued,  "  I  knowed  it  was  wrong. 
I  knowed  that  what  the  mudslingers  were 
sayin'  was  gospel.  I  knowed  that  I  was  n't  fit 
for  the  job  no  more  than  a  Chinaman  is  fit  for 
a  pope.  I  knowed  that  the  gambler  in  me  was 
ground  in,  and  the  other  was  just  only  rubbed 
on  the  outside,  and  that  the  gambler  part  was 
going  to  run  things, — and  it  did." 

The  man  paused  for  a  moment  and  turned 
to  the  Governor.  "  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  have 
come  to  the  point,  and  it  's  this:  I  got  into 
this  hole  and  I  am  going  to  get  out  of  it ;  it  's 
my  game  now ;  I  am  not  going  to  stand  any 
side  bets.  You  have  both  got  to  promise  me 
right  here  that  you  will  keep  your  hands  off 
this  matter, — clear  off — unless  I  say  it  goes." 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  43 

The  gambler  stopped,  rested  his  arms  heavily 
on  the  table  and  looked  at  his  companions. 
The  Virginian  and  the  Executive  were  silent ; 
both  men  realized  fully  the  true  import  of  Her- 
gan's  demand.  He  was  seeking  to  prevent 
any  sacrifice  on  their  part ;  that  was  all,  and  if 
he  had  been  the  most  skilful  diplomat  in  the 
world,  he  could  not  have  moved  more  adroitly. 

The  Governor  looked  up  at  the  massive  face 
of  the  gambler,  marred  by  evil  circumstance 
and  the  riot  of  dissipation,  and  wondered — as 
he  had  wondered  many  a  time  before, — at 
the  splendid  unselfishness  of  this  man.  From 
whence  could  have  come  this  flower  of  nobil- 
ity ?  The  life  of  Ambercrombie  Hergan  had 
been  sterile  soil  indeed  for  such  a  plant  as  this. 
How  could  it  be  in  the  economy  of  men  that 
such  princely  fidelity  obtained  alone  even  with- 
out trace  of  the  common  attendant  virtues  ? 

For  the  obligations  of  the  law  Ambercrombie 
Hergan  had  no  regard.  For  the  obligations 
of  the  citizen  he  had  no  regard.  Even  for  the 
common  obligations  of  morality  he  maintained 
the  most  stolid  unconcern.  Honesty  was  a 
name  to  him,  and  right  and  duty  and  honor 


44  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

were  merely  names  to  him.  Yet  blooming  in 
the  barren  garden  of  this  gambler's  heart  was 
something  fairer  than  them  all. 

"  Well,"  asked  Hergan,  with  a  trace  of 
anxiety  in  his  voice,  "  are  you  going  to 
promise  ?  " 

The  Governor  arose.  "  This  is  a  very 
serious  matter,"  he  said  slowly;  "  we  must 
be  given  a  few  minutes  in  which  to  decide." 

'  That  's  fair  enough,"  replied  the  gambler. 
"  You  two  can  go  into  the  other  room.  I  '11 
wait." 

The  Auditor  and  the  Executive  retired,  and 
the  Secretary  of  State  resumed  his  seat  beside 
the  table,  the  suggestion  of  a  smile  on  his  face. 
He  knew  perfectly  that  if  he  could  secure  the 
promise  of  his  companions  it  would  be  main- 
tained inviolate. 

Presently  the  door  opened  and  the  two  men 
entered.  "  Bill,"  said  the  Governor,  "  we 
promise." 

The  gambler  arose,  and  stretched  his  long 
limbs  like  one  relieved  from  the  weight  of  a 
crushing  burden.  Then  he  turned  to  his  com- 
panions. "  Boys,"  he  said  almost  gaily,  "  I 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  45 

may  as  well  tell  you  now  that  I  am  going  to 
New  York  Saturday  night." 

"  And  I  may  add,"  responded  the  Governor, 
"  that  I  am  going  Friday  night." 


"\TQU  see,"  the  Governor  was  saying,  "  the 
I  failure  of  this  bank  in  San  Francisco  has 
wiped  out  every  penny  I  had  in  the  world. 
On  the  fourth  day  of  next  March  I  will  be 
poorer  than  the  ordinary  drayman.  So  poor 
that  I  must  begin  all  over  again,  and  I  have 
no  heart  to  do  it." 

Miss  Marion  Lanmar  was  silent.  Her  hands 
rested  upon  the  great  arms  of  the  chair  in 
which  she  was  seated.  Her  face  might  have 
been  a  cast ;  it  was  so  very  motionless. 

"  I  should  not  mind  if  it  were  not  for  you," 
the  young  man  went  on.  "  I  mean," — he 
hesitated  for  a  moment, — ' '  if  I  had  never  seen 
you  ;  if  I  had  never  known  you.  But  now  the 
effort  would  seem  so  miserably  inadequate,  if  it 
were  not  made  for  you.  I  have  loved  you  and 
lived  for  you  too  long.  I  have  grown  accus- 
tomed to  you  as  the  mighty  incentive.  Every 
4$ 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  47 

path  that  I  have  travelled  has  had  you  waiting 
at  the  end.  Every  battle  I  have  fought  has 
seemed  to  hold  your  happiness  in  its  balance. 
Even  the  meagre  gains  of  all  the  weary  com- 
monplace days  have  been  to  me  so  much  or  so 
little  added  to  the  kingdom  of  the  queen.  So 
I  could  have  gone  on  to  the  end,  but  now, 
without  you  I  have  no  heart  at  all." 

The  man  leaned  over  and  rested  his  arm  on 
the  mantel-shelf.  "  I  have  read  somewhere," 
he  continued,  "  how  the  evil  fiend  strove  to 
destroy  a  man  whom  he  hated ;  how  he  robbed 
him  of  his  wealth,  of  his  friends,  of  his  fair 
fame,  and  how  the  man  worked  on,  laughing  in 
the  demon's  face,  and  how  it  all  failed,  until 
one  morning  the  evil  fiend  reached  down  into 
the  man's  heart  and  plucked  the  motive  out  of 
his  life,  and  then  the  man  threw  away  his  tools 
and  came  and  sat  in  the  doorway  of  his  shop. 
I  suppose  it  is  all  very  cowardly,  to  talk  as  I 
am  talking,  but  it  would  be  very  much  worse, 
I  should  think,  to  deceive  myself  and  you." 

The  woman  did  not  answer.  She  was  look- 
ing into  the  fire.  The  little  blue  flames  in  the 
wide  fireplace  danced  up  and  down  upon  their 


48  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

bed  of  coal  in  impish  merriment  at  all  the 
trouble  of  men's  lives. 

Presently  the  man  began  again.  "  Yet  a 
woman  cannot  wait  always,"  he  said,  4<  and  I 
have  no  right  to  ask  it  of  you.  I  must  step 
aside  out  of  your  life  and  beg  to  be  forgotten. 
It  is  a  terrible  ordeal  for  one  who  has  gone 
down  into  the  melte  with  his  lady's  colors  on 
his  helm  to  return  beaten  and  overthrown  and 
say,  '  This  quest  is  not  for  me.'  It  is  hard  to 
have  the  hope  of  one's  life  battered  out  and  to 
live  on  in  the  world,  and  yet  men  do,  and  I 
shall,  I  presume. 

"  We  are  taught  in  youth  that  the  world  is 
a  happy  place,  and  I  judge  that  it  is  a  bit  of 
illusion,  like  the  black  goblin  and  the  fairies, 
and  yet,  we  all  try  very  hard  to  believe  the  old 
housewife  tales,  and  cling  to  them,  and  give 
them  up  grudgingly  and  with  regret.  I  shall 
always  remember  how  very  sorry  I  was  when  I 
first  realized  that  there  really  were  no  fairies. 
I  was  only  a  child,  but  it  made  me  unhappy 
for  days.  It  seemed  to  put  all  my  reckoning 
out  of  joint.  And  so  I  have  always  believed 
that  happiness  existed  in  the  world,  and  that 


The  Governor's  Machine.  49 

it  came  to  men  somewhere  in  their  lives  about 
as  the  beautiful  princess  comes  in  the  fairy 
stories.  It  never  occurred  to  me  to  doubt  its 
coming.  True,  it  never  came,  but  everything 
that  did  come  seemed  only  to  prepare  a  way 
for  its  coming  at  some  day  farther  on.  Now  I 
see  that  this  is  just  an  illusion  like  the  others, 
and  I  confess  that  the  discovery  has  jarred  me 
frightfully." 

The  man's  voice  wavered  for  a  moment; 
then  it  grew  stronger.  "  I  don't  quite  see  how 
the  world  can  ever  seem  a  beautiful  place  after 
to-night.  The  sky  may  be  very  blue  indeed, 
but  the  man  whose  eyes  ache  will  not  look  up 
to  see  it.  The  birds  may  sing  gloriously  in 
the  trees,  but  the  man  whose  heart  is  an  empty 
house  will  not  care  at  all." 

Randal  stopped  and  looked  down  at  the 
woman.  He  noticed  how  very  soft  and  heavy 
her  brown  hair  was,  and  how  delicate  and 
slender  her  hands  were.  He  noted  vaguely, 
too,  the  artistic  effect  of  the  folds  of  her  gown 
and  the  shadows  on  her  face. 

"  Marion,"  he  said,  "  If  I  did  not  love  you 
better  than  any  other  thing  in  the  world,  I 


50  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

would  not  be  urging  these  bitter  arguments 
against  my  own  happiness.  I  would  not  be  so 
desperately  anxious  about  your  welfare.  I 
should  not  be  so  fearful  of  the  future.  I 
should  take  the  chance  without  the  hesitation 
of  a  moment.  But  the  very  depth  of  my  love 
makes  me  a  coward.  I  could  not  bear  to  see 
you  subject  to  all  the  evil  things  that  come 
with  poverty.  I  know  what  a  frightful  plight 
it  is — how  it  crushes  out  the  sweetness  and  the 
nobility  of  one's  life,  how  it  squeezes  the  heart, 
day  after  day,  until  it  finally  becomes  a  dry 
husk  in  one's  breast." 

Randal's  voice  was  now  thick  with  emotion. 
"  Marion,"  he  said,  "  do  you  hear  me  ?  Do 
you  believe  me  ?  " 

The  woman's  hands  tightened  on  the  great 
arms  of  the  chair,  and  for  a  moment  she  was 
silent  ;  then  she  began  to  speak,  slowly  and 
distinctly. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  she  said.  "  I  must  have 
time  to  think.  Yet  I  have  believed  you  all 
these  years.  I  must  believe  you  now.  Yes, 
I  do  believe  you  now.  But  you  are  wrong, 
frightfully  wrong.  You  forget  that  a  woman 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  5 1 

is  a  human  being  with  a  heart.  You  think  I 
am  afraid  of  the  world,  afraid  of  poverty,  afraid 
of  life  as  God  makes  it,  as  God  wills  it ;  that  I 
am  a  fragile  something  that  the  rain  and  the 
sunlight  would  ruin  if  it  touched ;  that  I  am  a 
something  more  or  less  than  you,  a  something 
that  requires  ease  and  luxury  and  all  the  gilded 
stage-setting  of  wealth — and  you  are  wrong. 
If  I  love  you,  of  what  value  to  me  are  all  those 
other  things  without  you  ?  If  I  love  you,  it 
is  not  all  these  things  I  want — it  is  you.  I  ask 
you  to  answer  this,  and  by  what  is  true  in  your 
heart,  know  what  is  true  in  mine :  Would  you 
be  happy  with  all  that  wealth  can  give  you 
and  without  me  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  man,  "  not  after  to-night. 
No." 

"  No  more  would  I,"  added  the  woman. 

The  heart,  as  it  is  said,  speaks  clearer  to  the 
heart  when  tongues  are  silent,  and  it  is  said 
that  grief  and  happiness  when  riding  high  in 
their  meridian  have  no  need  for  the  cumbrous 
medium  of  language. 

After  a  long  silence,  Miss  Lanmar  began 
again.  "  Men  cannot  understand,"  she  said; 


52  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  a  woman's  heart  is  so  miserably  strange. 
Things  either  slip  around  it,  leaving  no  mark 
at  all,  or  they  sink  in  and  become  a  very  part 
of  the  woman's  heart  itself.  There  is  no 
middle  ground ;  no  half  joy ;  no  middle  hurt. 
So  it  comes  about  that  if  one's  image  creeps 
into  her  heart,  it  must  remain.  True,  the 
world  may  never  know;  the  world  is  very 
stupid.  But  for  all  that,  the  woman's  heart 
will  hold  its  tenant,  and  when  she  is  alone  or 
in  the  dark,  she  will  know  and  feel  its  presence. 
It  may  be  that  the  woman  will  pray  to  be  rid 
of  the  evil  thing,  or  it  may  be  that  she  will 
pray  to  hold  it  always  as  a  gift  of  good,  but  be 
that  as  it  happens,  the  woman's  heart  will  re- 
main forever  helpless  to  evict  its  tenant. 

"Is  it  strange,  then,  if  I  love  you,  that  I 
should  want  to  go  with  you  and  live  with  you, 
and  be  with  you  always,  and  make  your  joys 
and  your  burdens  my  joys  and  my  burdens, 
and  have  a  share  and  an  interest  in  everything 
that  comes  to  you  ?  Is  it  strange  that  I  should 
hold  wealth  or  place  or  even  honor  as  nothing 
against  you  ?  Is  it  strange  that  I  should  be 
miserable,  thoroughly,  utterly  miserable  with 


The  Governor's  Machine.  53 

every  other  thing  in  the  world,  and  you 
denied  ?" 

The  woman's  voice  faltered  and  broke ;  her 
hands  relaxed,  and  began  to  slip  from  the  great 
arms  of  the  chair.  The  man  came  over,  and 
knelt  down  beside  her  and  put  his  arms  around 
her. 

"  Marion,  dear  heart,"  he  said,  "  you  do 
love  me.  You  will  trust  me  a  little  while, — 
just  a  little  while  ?  " 

The  woman's  head  slipped  down  on  his 
shoulder.  "  Love  you!  "  she  murmured,  "  I 
have  always  loved  you.  Surely  I  shall  always 
love  you.  But  when  you  are  gone,  the  world 
is  so  empty,  so  miserably  empty ! ' ' 


VI 


I  THOROUGHLY  appreciate  everything 
you  have  mentioned,  Mr.  Hergan,"  said 
the  clerk  Parks,  "  but  it  is  quite  impossible. 
Mr.  Mason  is  entirely  inaccessible.     I  should 
not  dare  interrupt  him." 

"  Look  here,  my  friend,"  responded  the 
gambler.  "  I  have  heard  this  same  talk  every 
day  for  the  last  week,  and  it  don't  go  any 
longer.  I  have  got  to  see  this  lawyer,  and  I 
have  got  to  see  him  now.  Do  you  understand 
me?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  replied  the  clerk,  with  a  faint 
smile,  "  I  understand  you  perfectly,  but  it  is 
entirely  useless  to  urge  the  matter  any  farther. 
The  business  with  which  Mr.  Mason  is  at 
present  engaged  is  of  great  magnitude.  He 
would  not  permit  an  interview  at  all.  1  am 
very  sorry,  but,  of  course,  I  can  do  nothing  for 
you." 

54 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  55 

The  gambler  did  not  respond.  For  a  few 
moments  he  was  silent.  Then  he  put  his 
hands  into  the  inside  pocket  of  his  coat  and 
drew  forth  a  rather  battered  leather  pocket- 
book.  He  held  the  pocket-book  under  the 
table,  opened  it  slowly,  and  selecting  a  fifty- 
dollar  bill  from  among  a  number  of  others, 
laid  it  gently  on  the  table. 

"  There,"  he  said,  "  is  my  ante.  I  want  in 
the  game." 

The  eyes  of  the  clerk  began  to  contract 
slowly  at  the  corners. 

"  My  dear  man,"  he  said,  "  I  should  like  to 
do  this  for  you,  but  I  don't  see  how  I  can.  I 
don't  believe  Mr.  Mason  would  even  listen  to 
me  just  now.  I  don't " 

"  Wait,"  responded  the  gambler  ;  "I 
sweeten  it." 

Thereupon  he  selected  another  bill  from  the 
pocket-book  and  spread  it  out  carefully  beside 
the  other  upon  the  table. 

The  little  bald  clerk  began  to  drum  on  the 
chair  with  his  fingers.  His  eyes  wandered 
from  the  money  to  the  door  of  Mason's  private 
office,  and  back  again.  Presently  he  turned  to 
the  gambler. 


56  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

The  Hon.  Ambercrombie  Hergan  held  up 
two  fingers.  "  Don't  call,"  he  said,  "  I  tilt  it 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty."  And  he  added 
another  bill  to  the  two,  and  pushed  the  money 
across  the  table  to  the  clerk.  Then  he  closed 
the  pocket-book  deliberately  and  replaced  it  in 
his  coat. 

Parks  arose,  picked  up  the  money  without  a 
word,  and  passed  into  Randolph  Mason's 
private  office,  closing  the  door  carefully  behind 
him.  In  a  very  few  moments  the  clerk  re- 
turned. He  came  up  close  to  the  gambler 
and  put  his  hand  confidentially  on  his  shoulder. 

"  My  friend,"  he  said,  in  a  low  tone,  "  you 
are  not  a  fool.  I  have  told  some  lies  to  get 
you  this  interview.  Look  sharp,  and  say  as 
little  as  possible." 

"  What  lies  ?  "  asked  the  gambler,  arising. 

"  Such  as  were  useful,"  responded  the  clerk. 
"  Quite  too  tedious  to  enumerate.  Please 
walk  into  Mr.  Mason's  office,  sir,  and  remem- 
ber that  you  are  my  brother-in-law.  Answer 
the  questions  which  are  put  to  you,  and  don't 
volunteer  talk.  It  is  n't  wise." 

The  gambler  opened  the  door  to  Randolph 
Mason's  private  office  and  entered. 


VII 

THE  Secretary  of  State  came  slowly  down 
the  steps  from  Randolph  Mason's  office. 
At  the  entrance  to  the  great  building  he 
stopped  and  looked  up  and  down  the  busy, 
jostling  thoroughfare.  It  had  been  but  a  few 
years  since  he  was  a  grain  in  this  vortex,  and 
now  that  past  seemed  ages  removed.  He  was 
not  conscious  of  anything  of  interest  in  the 
very  familiar  scene.  Just  why  he  had  stopped 
to  look,  this  man  would  not  have  been  quite 
able  to  explain.  In  truth,  he  was  striving  to 
obtain  his  mental  bearings.  He  had  been 
flung  violently  upon  another  view  point,  and 
he  was  endeavoring  to  comprehend  the  loom 
of  this  new  land.  His  sensations  were  not  un- 
like those  of  one  who  but  an  hour  before  had 
gone  into  the  operating  room  of  a  surgeon, 
walking  as  he  believed  to  his  death,  and  now 
57 


58  The  Man  ef  Last  Resort. 

returned  with  the  tumor  dissected  out,  and 
the  hope  of  life  big  in  his  bosom.  The  world 
was  an  entirely  different  place  from  what  it 
had  been  some  hours  before,  and  the  gambler's 
steps  were  firmer,  and  his  ancient  careless  spirit 
had  returned. 

At  this  moment,  as  it  pleased  Fate,  a  cab 
stopped  before  a  broker's  office  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street,  and  the  Governor  stepped 
out.  The  gambler  darted  across  and  caught 
his  companion  by  the  shoulder.  The  Gover- 
nor turned  suddenly. 

4  Well,"  he  said,  in  astonishment,  "  is  this 
an  assault  vi  et  armis  ?  " 

11  No,"  said  the  gambler.  "  It 's  worse  than 
that,  Al.  It  's  a  mandamus.  You  are  not  to 
go  in  that  broker's  office." 

"  Not  to  go  in  ?  "  echoed  the  Executive. 
4<  Why  not  ?" 

<4  Al,"  said  the  gambler,  grinning  like  a 
Hindoo  idol,  "  I  said  this  here  was  a  manda- 
mus. I  guess  the  judge  don't  ever  explain 
'  why  not '  in  a  mandamus." 

44  Good  chancellor,"  replied  the  Governor, 
with  mock  gravity,  "  I  resist  the  order." 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  59 

"  On  what  ground  ?  "  said  the  Hon.  Amber- 
crombie  Hergan,  with  such  a  sage  judicial  air 
as  might  obtain  with  a  truck  horse. 

"  First,"  replied  the  Governor,  "  that  the 
mandamus  was  improvidently  awarded.  Sec- 
ond, that  the  Court  issuing  the  writ  was  with- 
out jurisdiction.  And,  third,  that  the  act 
sought  to  be  restrained  is  not  entirely  minis- 
terial, but  one  largely  within  the  discretion  of 
the  officer." 

"  All  them  objections,"  said  the  gambler, 
"  this  Court  overrules." 

"  But,"  continued  the  Executive,  "  in  this 
case  the  mandamus  cannot  lie.  I  move  to 
quash  the  writ." 

"  But  it  does  lie,"  asserted  the  powerful 
devotee  of  fortune,  hooking  his  arm  through 
that  of  the  Executive  and  turning  him  down 
the  street,  "  and  she  can't  be  squashed." 

The  Governor  had  observed  the  very  great 
change  in  the  man,  and  knowing  the  Honor- 
able Ambercrombie  Hergan,  he  knew  that  this 
erratic  person  had  chanced  upon  some  solution 
for  his  dilemma — strange  and  but  half-practi- 
cal, the  Governor  had  no  doubt,  but  certainly 


60  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

not  commonplace,  and  so  he  made  no  further 
offer  of  resistance. 

"  Al,"  said  the  gambler,  hurrying  his  com- 
panion through  the  crowded  street,  "  do  you 
know  where  you  are  going  ? ' ' 

"  I  have  n't  the  slightest  idea,"  observed 
the  Governor,  with  greatest  unconcern. 

"  Well,  I  '11  tell  you.  You  are  going  first 
to  the  hotel,  then  to  the  railroad,  then  to  the 
Southwest,  and  you  have  just  fifty-nine 
minutes  between  you  and  the  train." 

The  Governor  stopped  short.  "  I  can't  go, 
Bill.  I  must  sell  these  stocks." 

"  That  's  just  the  point,"  said  the  gambler. 
"  You  aint  going  to  sell  them  stocks.  That  's 
why  I  issued  this  here  mandamus."  And  he 
seized  the  Executive  by  the  arm  and  fairly 
dragged  him  across  the  street. 

"  Bill,"  protested  the  Governor,  "  Bill,  this 
is  all  nonsense.  It  don't  go." 

"  Everything  goes,"  said  the  gambler. 
"  Come  on.  We  have  lost  three  of  them  fifty- 
nine  minutes  already." 


VIII 

THE  Emporium  of  Crawley  was  not  quite  a 
trading-place  as  the  Greek  root  of  the 
word  would  indicate,  unless  transactions  in 
which  the  unwary  bartered  his  gain  for  experi- 
ence, and  the  great  unscrubbed  of  the  South- 
west pitted  their  wage  against  the  riot  of 
dissipation,  could  be  held  to  partake  of  the 
nature  of  commerce.  It  was  a  fad  with  Craw- 
ley  to  assert  that  his  Emporium  was  a  clearing- 
house,— a  rather  grim  jest,  heavy  with  truth. 
Indeed,  all  the  currency  of  this  primitive  land 
seemed  to  pass,  sooner  or  later,  through  the 
mammoth  establishment  of  First  Class  Crawley, 
and  in  season  and  out  of  season  as  the  dollar 
went  through,  a  portion  paused  and  remained 
in  the  fingers  of  the  proprietor.  And  for  this, 
also, — as  the  common-law  pleader  would  put 
it,  —  truth  clung  to  the  pet  declaration  of 
Crawley. 

61 


62  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

When  the  population  gathered  night  after 
night  under  the  roof  of  his  Emporium,  their 
troubles  came  also ;  and  when  the  smoke  grew 
thick  and  the  tanglefoot  whiskey  began  to 
assert  itself,  there  were  other  things  to  clear  up 
beside  matters  of  currency.  Matters  of  conse- 
quence and  matters  of  no  consequence  were 
cleared  by  the  same  rapid,  drastic  measures. 
Bad  men  here  decided  who  was  the  worst  or 
the  best,  as  they  were  pleased  with  the  term. 
The  henchmen  of  rival  cattle  kings  submitted 
the  vexatious  question  of  a  brand  on  a  stray 
heifer  to  this  court  of  instant  resort  and  quick 
decision,  and  other  concerns  of  the  citizen, 
affecting  perhaps  his  truth,  or  honor,  or  ability 
for  a  vice,  were  determined  suddenly  and  for 
all  time  without  the  wrangling  of  counsel  or 
the  tedium  of  courts. 

If  a  Mexican  was  so  short-sighted  as  to  slip 
his  knife  into  a  tenderfoot,  some  one  shot  the 
Mexican,  and  the  crowd  "  lickered  up."  If 
the  faro  dealer  killed  his  man,  it  was  usually 
because  the  man  needed  killing,  and  certainly 
the  faro  dealer  was  the  best  judge  of  this.  On 
the  contrary,  if  one  shot  the  dealer,  this  was 


The  Governor's  Machine.  63 

considered  a  public  calamity,  demanding  an 
explanation,  since  the  dealer  was  a  quasi  public 
functionary,  and  the  convenience  of  the  citizen 
required  that  the  game  should  continue. 
One's  life  was  perhaps  the  cheapest  thing 
below  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  and  it  was 
entirely  the  duty  of  the  individual  to  see  that 
it  was  maintained.  If  one  was  unsteady  on 
the  trigger,  or  caught  napping  on  the  draw, 
one  was  held  to  have  died  by  virtue  of  con- 
tributory negligence. 

To  be  sure  there  was  law,  and  machinery  for 
its  execution ;  but  the  machinery  was  liberal, 
and  had  ideas  of  its  own,  and  the  law  adhered 
with  supreme  unconcern  to  its  maxim — De 
minimis  non  curat  lex. 

First  Class  Crawley  had  been  splendidly 
trained  for  the  duties  of  his  position.  If  For- 
tune had  been  moving  of  design,  she  could  not 
have  schooled  him  better  for  such  a  life.  Some 
thirty  years  before,  he  had  been  a  sutler  with 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac — not  the  sutler  of 
romance,  but  the  sutler  of  reality;  following 
the  army  bravely,  but  at  such  a  distance  to  the 
rear  as  to  be  at  all  times  extremely  safe,  and 


64  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

exacting  for  his  valuable  public  service  every 
gain  that  human  ingenuity  could  discover.  It 
was  no  wrong  in  the  mind  of  Crawley  to  cheat 
the  common  soldier  out  of  his  eyes ;  belike  the 
soldier  would  be  shot  on  the  morrow,  and  then 
all  opportunity  to  cheat  him  would  cease,  and 
if  prior  opportunity  had  not  been  seized  and 
enjoyed,  Crawley  would  regret. 

When  the  "  bitterness  of  death  "  had  passed, 
Crawley  became  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Ohio. 
Here  the  field  for  his  talent  was  broader,  and 
Crawley  arose  and  spread  like  the  bay  tree  of 
Biblical  record.  Crawley  held  it  as  a  basic 
principle  that  the  machinery  of  human  justice 
could  not  be  maintained  without  ample  sinews 
of  war.  It  was  best,  to  be  sure,  if  these  sinews 
could  be  wrested  from  the  wrong-doer,  but,  fail- 
ing that,  the  innocent  must  contribute.  Every 
litigant  was  presumed  to  proceed  at  the  peril 
of  costs.  The  matter  of  costs  was  one  vital  to 
Crawley,  and  loomed  constantly.  The  right 
or  justice  of  a  cause  was  never  for  a  moment 
permitted  to  obscure  it.  If  the  plaintiff  was 
impecunious,  then  the  decision  must  be  against 
the  defendant,  else  the  costs  could  not  be  had, 


The  Governor's  Machine.  65 

and  vice  versa  as  it  had  pleased  Providence  to 
place  substance. 

This  was  a  high  conception  of  human  justice; 
since  it  passed  by  the  trivial  controversy  of  the 
litigants,  and  placed  the  burden  of  legal  pro- 
cedure upon  the  one  best  able  to  support  it. 
First  Class  Crawley  maintained  further  that  it 
was  the  part  of  wisdom  in  a  government 
promptly  to  release  the  criminal  who  "  shelled 
out,"  since  the  revenues  of  the  State  arose 
largely  from  the  fines  imposed  upon  the  evil- 
doer, and  it  was  certainly  quite  useless  to  re- 
tain the  criminal  at  public  expense  after  having 
squeezed  him  thoroughly,  when  he  could  be 
returned  to  society  and  squeezed  again  later  on. 

Crawley  might  have  been  the  father  of  a 
school,  had  he  not  found  the  school  in  Ohio 
established  to  his  uses.  Consequently  his 
fame  was  local,  and  his  methods  being  of  an- 
cient origin  in  this  Commonwealth,  provoked 
no  comment,  and  indeed  he  might  have  passed 
on,  with  the  usual  career  of  such  ambitious 
spirits,  to  a  seat  in  the  legislature,  had  he  not 
unwittingly  crossed  into  a  neighboring  State  in 
order  to  attend  a  reunion  of  the  Grand  Army 

5 


66  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

of  the  Republic.  Here  one,  smarting  from  a 
hurt,  pounced  down  upon  him  with  a  warrant 
for  a  felony,  and  that  same  night  the  visiting 
justice  was  a  guest  of  the  State.  But  First 
Class  Crawley  was  no  man  of  feeble  resources, 
and  two  days  later  he  gave  a  straw  bond  and 
vanished  like  a  newspaper  war  cloud. 

In  the  Southwest,  Crawley  was  a  person  of 
importance — a  court  of  last  resort  on  all  mat- 
ters, barring  none.  If  bets  were  made,  Crawley 
was  umpire.  If  questions  were  argued,  Crawley 
was  judge.  If  one  wanted  advice,  one  went  to 
him.  If  one  wanted  information,  one  went  to 
him;  and  if  one  needed  money,  one  went 
always  to  First  Class  Crawley,  and  put  up 
everything  but  his  life.  No  function  was  com- 
plete without  the  presence  of  this  celebrity,  be 
it  bull  fight  or  prize  fight,  or  dog  fight,  or  a 
prearranged  resort  to  the  arbitration  of  the 
Winchester.  Crawley  was  a  great  man,  in 
counterdistinction  to  a  bad  man.  Personally, 
he  neither  quarrelled  nor  fought,  and  one 
would  have  no  more  considered  shooting  at 
Crawley  than  he  would  have  considered  shoot- 
ing at  his  grandmother.  This  proprietor  of  the 


The  Governor  s  Machint.  67 

Emporium  maintained  his  position,  not  by 
virtue  of  arms  and  skill  in  their  use,  but  by 
virtue  of  an  interesting  something  which  passed 
with  him  for  an  intellect. 

Consequently,  when  he  and  Hiram  Martin,  of 
the  Golden  Horn  Mining  Company,  sat  down  in 
the  private  gambling  room  of  the  Emporium 
to  a  private  interview  with  the  Honorable 
Ambercrombie  Hergan,  they  were  expecting 
to  realize  from  the  time  expended.  They  were 
both  attentive  and  interested,  since  the  reck- 
less Secretary  of  State  was  known  in  the  lingo 
of  the  guild  as  an  "  easy  member."  If  he  had 
money,  or  could  obtain  money,  it  would  event- 
ually fall  into  their  clutches  as  it  had  always 
done.  Hence  their  interest  was  genuine. 

"  Boys,"  said  the  Secretary  of  State,  "  I 
have  a  scheme  to  make  a  stake,  and  I  want  you 
in  on  it.  I  have  been  over  in  the  East,  and  I 
have  got  it  all  figured  out,  and  it  's  a  cinch." 

The  owner  of  the  Golden  Horn  folded  his 
hands  over  the  vast  expanse  of  his  stomach  and 
smiled  benignly.  He  knew  all  about  the  usual 
combination  of  circumstances  set  down  in  the 
elegant  diction  of  the  gambler  as  a  "  cinch." 


68  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

He  was  an  expert  upon  things  of  this  sort,  but 
he  volunteered  no  information,  and  no  com- 
ment. He  merely  smiled  and  murmured 
"  Yes,"  in  a  voice  which  reminded  one  of  oil 
being  poured  from  a  very  full  barrel. 

"  You  see,"  continued  the  Honorable  Am- 
bercrombie  Hergan,  "it  's  this  way.  There  is 
a  broker  in  Chicago  who  is  a  friend  of  mine.  I 
saved  him  from  the  jug  when  he  was  a  kid,  and 
he  never  forgot  it.  Well,  he  went  to  Chicago, 
raked  together  a  bunch  of  money,  and  bought 
a  seat  in  the  Stock  Exchange.  He  was  lucky, 
and  now  he  is  away  up.  He  is  on  the  inside, 
and  he  says  that  there  is  going  to  be  a  big  raise 
in  oil  stocks  ;  that  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
has  been  forcing  it  down  in  order  to  squeeze 
out  the  little  dealers,  and  that  they  are  right 
now  at  the  bottom,  and  when  they  let  go,  it 
will  fly  back  to  a  dollar. ' ' 

At  this  point  in  the  narrative,  Crawley  mur- 
mured "  Yes,"  then  leaned  back  in  his  chair 
and  closed  his  eyes.  He  was  not  quite  ready 
to  puncture  Mr.  Hergan's  balloon,  and  it  was 
not  his  way  to  offer  objections  to  unfinished 
propositions. 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  69 

"Now,"  said  Hergan,  leaning  over  and  rest- 
ing his  arms  on  the  table,  ' '  the  plan  is  to  form 
a  big  pool  and  buy  oil,  and  make  enough  at 
one  haul  to  go  back  to  civilization  and  live  like  a 
king.  That  is  the  scheme,  boys.  It 's  good." 

First  Class  Crawley  opened  his  eyes  slowly, 
and  putting  out  his  fat  hand,  began  to  caress 
the  green  cloth  on  the  little  round  poker  table. 
Billy, ' '  he  said  slowly,  ' '  I  expect  that  is  a 
good  scheme,  and  I  expect  there  is  money  in 
it, — may  be  tubs  of  money,  but  me  and  Martin 
aint  speculators;  we  never  so  much  as  saw  a 
ticking  machine  in  our  life.  We  don't  know 
anything  about  new-fangled  ways  to  get  rich. 
We  're  both  old  fogies, — just  common  old 
fogies,  and  I  reckon  we  had  better  stay  out. 
Of  course,  I  aint  knocking  on  the  scheme.  It 
looks  good,  mighty  good,  but  me  and  Martin 
aint  young  any  longer;  we  're  getting  old  and 
heavy  on  our  pins,  and  we  aint  got  no  nerve 
like  we  used  to  have.  Still  I  aint  knocking. 
Me  and  Martin  would  like  to  see  you  make  a 
pile  of  money,  would  n't  we,  Martin  ? " 

'  Yes,"  gurgled  the  owner  of  the  Golden 
Horn,  "  we  would  that." 


70  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

The  Honorable  Ambercrombie  Hergan 
straightened  up  and  thrust  his  hands  into  his 
pockets.  "  Of  course,  boys,"  he  said,  "  it  's 
a  gamble,  but  it  's  a  ten-to-one  shot  better 
than  a  faro  bank.  If  it  goes  our  way,  we  will 
have  all  kinds  of  money ;  if  it  goes  the  other 
way,  we  are  skinned  to  a  standstill.  I  am  tired 
of  little  gambles,  and  I  am  going  to  make  one 
big  play  if  I  eat  snowballs  for  the  next  twenty 
years.  I  would  like  to  have  you  boys  in,  but 
if  you  don't  believe  that  the  thing  is  easy  to 
beat,  you  can  stay  out." 

An  inspiration  came  to  First  Class  Crawley, 
and  he  seized  it  with  the  avidity  of  a  shark. 
"  Billy,"  he  said,  with  amiable  confidence, 
"  you  have  no  better  friends  in  this  here 
country  than  me  and  Martin — has  he,  Martin?" 

"  No,"  muttered  the  fat  owner  of  the  olea- 
ginous voice,  "  he  aint. " 

"  And  me  and  Martin,"  the  proprietor  went 
on,  "  would  go  in  anything  in  the  world  that 
you  wanted  us  to  go  in,  and  it  would  n't  make 
no  difference  to  us  what  it  was,  if  you  said  it 
was  a  good  thing.  But  me  and  Martin  are 
pretty  nigh  sixty,  and  if  we  would  go  broke, 


The  Governors  Machine.  71 

we  could  never  get  on  our  feet  no  more.  We 
are  skeery,  Billy;  me  and  Martin  are  skeery, 
but  we  are  ready  to  do  anything  for  you  that 
we  can.  We  are  ready  to  help  you  any  way 
you  want  to  be  helped,  because  you  are  dead 
game,  Billy, — that  's  what  you  are — you  're 
dead  game." 

The  wary  Hiram  Martin  was  totally  in  the 
dark  as  to  what  Crawley  was  probing  for,  but 
he  had  unlimited  confidence  in  the  proprietor 
of  the  Emporium,  and  he  assented  blandly. 
Crawley,  he  knew,  followed  no  cold  trail; 
Crawley  worked  no  salted  lead,  and  if  he 
stooped  to  "  crook  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the 
knee,"  there  was  something  in  it  for  Crawley, 
and  at  no  great  distance. 

"  Well,"  responded  the  Secretary  of  State, 

'  I  am  obliged  to  you  both,  but  I  guess  there 

is    nothing   I    need   just   now.     Of   course,  I. 

have  got  to  raise  a  bunch  of  money  for  this 

deal,  but  I  sort  of  arranged  that  in  New  York." 

The  ulterior  motive  of  Crawley  was  now 
quite  clear  to  the  owner  of  the  Golden  Horn. 
Hergan  would  require  money, — perhaps  a  large 
sum  for  his  venture.  If  good  security  could 


72  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

be  given,  there  was  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  advance  the  cash  at  a  large  and  comfort- 
able discount. 

The  officer  of  the  Commonwealth  moved  his 
chair  back  from  the  table  as  an  indication  that 
the  secret  conference  was  at  an  end.  As  he  did 
so,  the  proprietor  of  the  Emporium  leaned  over 
and  spread  out  his  fat  hands  on  the  green  cloth. 

"  Billy,  old  man,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  that 
indicated  gentle  reproach,  "  there  was  no  ne- 
cessity for  you  to  go  among  strangers  to  raise 
any  money  you  wanted ;  me  and  Martin  have 
saved  up  a  little,  and  me  and  Martin  would  be 
glad  to  let  you  have  it  if  it  is  any  accommoda- 
tion, would  n't  we,  Martin  ?  " 

First  Class  Crawley  failed  to  add  that  both 
he  and  Martin  would  require  the  trifling  detail 
of  a  substantial  surety,  but  they  concluded 
shrewdly  that  if  Hergan  could  raise  money  in 
New  York,  he  had  obtained  some  first-class 
support,  and  if  this  security  were  sufficient  for 
an  Eastern  bank,  it  was  amply  sufficient  for  all 
purposes  known  to  commerce.  Hence  the  ap- 
parently unconcerned  Martin  consented  most 
amiably. 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  73 

The  Honorable  Ambercrombie  Hergan  settled 
back  in  his  chair  and  grew  thoughtful.  "  I 
aint  closed  the  loan,"  he  said,  after  some  little 
consideration,  "  and  I  would  just  as  leave  bor- 
row it  of  you,  boys.  The  fact  is,  I  would  a 
little  rather  borrow  it  of  you.  I  am  paying 
pretty  stiff  for  the  money,  and  I  would  rather 
pay  my  friends  than  the  Yankees  in  the  East." 

"  Yes,"  observed  the  unctuous  mining  mag- 
nate, although  he  had  not  intended  to  speak 
at  all. 

"  But,"  continued  the  Secretary  of  State, 
"  I  reckon  you  would  n't  like  to  put  up  as 
much  as  I  need.  I  am  going  to  crowd  the 
bank  this  once." 

"  Well,  Billy,"  drawled  the  proprietor  of  the 
Emporium,  "  I  expect  me  and  Martin  can 
ake  it  up  for  you.  If  we  aint  got  enough, 
we  can  get  some  around  and  piece  out.  Least 
ways,  we  will  try.  About  what  sum  might 
you  need  ? " 

"  I  reckon,"  responded  Hergan,  "  that  I 
shall  want  about  fifty  thousand." 

The  hands  of  Hiram  Martin  tightened  over 
his  stomach,  and  for  a  moment  Crawley  studied 


74  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

the  ceiling  with  placid  indifference.  He  had 
turned  Hergan  into  his  own  channel,  and  the 
transaction  being  assured,  it  was  now  the  part 
of  wisdom  to  affect  gravity.  Presently  he 
spoke,  slowly  and  anxiously :  "  That 's  a  power- 
ful  big  wad  of  money.  Still,  me  and  Mar- 
tin  "  Here  he  stopped  short  and  turned 

to  his  companion. 

"  Powerful  big,"  echoed  the  mine  owner, 
and  volunteered  no  further  observation.  He 
understood  First  Class  Crawley  as  few  men  are 
understood,  and  such  observations  were  quite 
useless  between  them,  except  for  the  effect 
upon  the  victim  at  hand. 

"  Still,"  continued  the  proprietor  of  the 
Emporium,  "  I  expect  we  can  raise  it  some 
way.  About  what  terms  do  you  allow  on  ?  " 

I  guess  thirty  days  will  be  long  enough," 
responded  Hergan.  "  Thirty  days  at  twelve 
per  cent,  is  how  I  have  been  figuring  it." 

'  Yes,"  drawled  the  gambling  king,  "  and 
the  security  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  the  Secretary  of  State,  "  I 
have  calculated  to  give  the  Governor  and  Cul- 
verson." 


The  Governor's  Machine.  75 

"  They  are  good,  I  reckon,"  observed  the 
wary  Crawley.  "  Aint  they  good,  Martin  ?" 

"  Might  be  worse,"  responded  the  oily 
owner  of  the  Golden  Horn,  "  but  it  aint  that. 
It  's  the  rate.  Seems  like  mighty  little  on  a 
short  loan. ' ' 

"It  is  mighty  little,"  continued  Crawley, 
after  a  silence  of  some  moments.  "  We  would 
have  to  give  more  than  that  for  what  we  bor- 
rowed 'round.  There  would  n't  be  nothing  in 
it  for  us,  Billy, — not  a  cent  to  '  me  and  Martin. " 

"  I  tell  you  what  I  '11  do,"  put  in  the  Hon- 
orable Ambercrombie  Hergan,  abruptly,  as 
though  the  idea  was  new  and  sudden  in  its 
coming,  "  I  '11  give  you  twelve  per  cent,  for 
the  money  for  a  month,  and  I  will  enter  into 
an  agreement  to  turn  over  to  you  two  one- 
eighth  of  what  I  win  on  the  gamble. 

Crawley  was  very  grave.  The  proposition 
pleased  him  hugely,  but  emotions  found  no 
expression  with  him.  To  loan  fifty  thousand 
dollars  on  good  security  at  an  enormous  rate 
of  interest,  and  in  addition  to  have  a  substan- 
tial share  in  a  speculation  without  standing  to 
lose  a  cent,  was  a  condition  of  affairs  not  likely 


76  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

to  arise  with  much  regularity  in  the  span  of  a 
gambler's  precarious  life.  Yet  Crawley  was 
not  anxious.  To  the  spectator  he  was  sad  and 
unconcerned.  He  knew  quite  well  that  this 
proposition  was  Hergan's  ultimatum,  and  he 
was  going  to  accept,  but  desired  to  appear  to 
accept  rather  as  a  matter  of  kindly  feeling 
toward  Hergan  than  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 
the  inducement  had  increased. 

"  Billy,"  he  said  slowly,  almost  sadly,  "  me 
and  Martin  don't  want  to  make  anything  off 
of  you,  and  we  will  try  to  fix  it  any  way  you 
want  it.  If  you  want  to  arrange  the  thing  that 
way,  why  it  suits  us — it  suits  me  and  Martin." 

"  All  right,"  responded  the  Secretary  of 
State,  getting  up  from  the  table.  "  I  '11  go 
over  to  the  Governor's  house  and  have  Al  fix 
the  papers.  The  sooner  I  get  it,  the  better 
chance  I  '11  have  to  win  a  stake." 

"  Billy,"  called  the  proprietor  of  the  Em- 
porium, as  the  official  of  the  Commonwealth 
was  passing  out  through  the  door,  "  just  make 
the  note  payable  to  Martin." 

The  Honorable  Ambercrombie  Hergan  nod- 
ded his  assent,  and  departed,  leaving  the  fat 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  77 

gambling  kings  of  the  Southwest  to  prolong 
the  secret  session. 

When  the  door  was  closed,  First  Class  Craw- 
ley  turned  to  his  companion,  his  little  gray 
eyes  slipping  around  in  their  puffy  sockets. 

"  Martin,"  he  said,  "  aint  he  a  mark  ?  " 

The  stomach  of  the  rotund  Martin  undulated 
like  a  rubber  bag  filled  with  fluid.  "  Of  all 
damn  fools,"  he  gurgled. 

' '  Were  it  clear  ? ' '  inquired  the  proprietor  of 
the  Emporium. 

'  Plain  as  a  speckled  pup,"  responded  Mar- 
tin, "  except  the  note." 

'  You  see, ' '  said  First  Class  Crawley,  turning 
around  in  his  chair,  "  you  live  in  New  Mexico, 
and  I  wanted  the  note  in  your  name  so  that 
if  we  had  to  sue  we  could  get  it  in  the  United 
States  court.  You  can't  ever  tell  what  the  State 
courts  are  going  to  do  with  you,  but  old  Uncle 
Sam's  courts  don't  stand  no  flim-flam." 

"  Crawley,"  announced  the  owner  of  the 
Golden  Horn,  "  Crawley,  you  are  built  like  a 
white  man,  but  you  have  got  a  head  on  you 
like  a  Yankee. ' ' 

When  the  Honorable  Ambercrombie  Hergan 


78  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

returned  to  the  Governor's  residence  he  found 
that  celebrated  official  and  Major  Culverson  in 
the  library.  The  irrepressible  Major  was  en- 
gaged in  presenting  a  lurid  and  highly  dramatic 
history  of  how  he  had  straightened  the  tangled 
exigencies  of  the  Commonwealth  during  the 
absence  of  his  associates,  and  how,  by  virtue 
of  his  magnificent  personality,  the  entire 
Southwest,  from  the  borders  of  lower  Utah  to 
the  Rio  Grande,  was  now  the  placid  abode  of 
peace  and  fraternal  good-will.  He  stopped 
short  as  the  Secretary  of  State  entered,  and 
bowed.  Then  thrusting  his  hand  into  the 
front  of  his  coat,  he  exclaimed,  with  the  af- 
fected manner  of  a  tenth-rate  actor,  "  Good 
morrow,  good  gambler." 

"  Top  chop,"  responded  the  Honorable 
Ambercrombie  Hergan.  "  And  a  favorite." 

"  I  opine,"  continued  the  Major,  "  I  opine, 
sir,  from  your  gladsome  tone  that  the  fat  sharks 
have  been  successfully  harpooned." 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  Secretary  of  State, 
dropping  into  a  chair  by  the  table,  "  the  re- 
ports of  this  race  will  announce  that  Hiram 
Martin  and  First  Class  Crawley  '  also  ran.'  " 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  79 

'  Which  being  translated,"  observed  the 
Governor,  "  means  that  these  gentlemen  will 
advance  you  the  money  on  the  line  suggested 
by  your  New  York  lawyer." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  gambler.  "  You  are  to 
fix  up  the  papers,  and  I  am  to  go  down  there 
to-night.  Everything  turned  out  just  like 
Randolph  Mason  said  it  would.  If  the  rest 
goes  through  as  slick,  we  will  be  riding  in  car- 
riages. ' ' 

"  Produce  the  sealed  orders,"  said  the  Gov- 
ernor, partaking  of  the  mock  dramatic  atmos- 
phere. 

The  Secretary  of  State  drew  a  big  envelope 
from  his  pocket  and  threw  it  down  on  the 
table.  The  Executive  leaned  over,  opened 
the  paper,  and,  after  having  examined  it  care- 
fully, took  up  a  pen  and  began  to  write. 

Major  Culverson  wandered  over  to  the  win- 
dow and  looked  out  at  the  hot,  monotonous, 
sterile  country.  "  I  wonder,"  he  murmured, 
"  if  this  is  really  the  passing  of  the  Honorable 
Ambercrombie  Hergan  ? " 


IX 


THE  audience  in  the  court-room  arose  and 
remained  standing  until  the  judge  in  his 
black  silk  robe  had  entered  and  taken  his  place 
on  the  bench.  Then  the  audience  resumed  its 
seat,  and  the  clerk  began  to  read  the  proceed- 
ings for  the  previous  day.  The  ceremony  at- 
tendant upon  the  sitting  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
the  United  States  carried  with  it  an  impressive 
sense  of  majestic,  imperial  authority,  and  an 
air  of  grave,  judicial  deliberation.  It  was  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
the  spirit  of  supreme  order  and  law  moving 
through  its  servant,  and,  next  to  the  Great 
Ruler  of  Events,  it  was  greatest.  It  had  as- 
sumed for  the  good  of  men  the  right  to  sit  in 
judgment,  and  to  say  wherein  lay  the  justice 
of  their  complicated  quarrels.  Before  it,  every 
man's  cause  was  of  equal  import,  and  every 
80 


The  Governor's  Machine.  81 

man  was  of  equal  stature;  bond  or  free,  one 
stood  before  it  naked  of  influence,  and  with 
his  shoulder  made  as  high  as  the  shoulder  of 
his  fellow. 

This  is  the  theory.  If  it  fails,  it  is  because 
the  law  at  best  is  but  a  human  device,  and  its 
servants,  after  all,  are  but  men  like  the  others. 

The  building  in  which  the  Federal  Court 
held  its  session  was  a  substantial,  handsome 
structure,  and  maintained  a  strange  contrast  to 
the  town  in  which  it  stood.  The  town  was 
rough,  miserable,  uncouth  ;  the  temporary 
habitation  of  men,  struggling  ever  with  the  re- 
lentless ananfa  of  things ;  in  equal  contrast  to 
the  officers  of  this  court  was  the  audience  in 
the  great  court-room.  They  were  the  pioneers 
of  civilization ;  a  motley  crowd  in  which  the 
best  and  worst  of  human  society  was  mixed 
and  intermixed.  They  were,  for  the  most 
part,  bronzed,  bearded,  fearless  examples  of 
the  inexorable  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
but  not  all.  Some  were  the  reckless  advance 
agents  of  those  hardy  vices  that  follow  close  in 
the  wake  of  empire, — devils  too  villainous  to 
be  tolerated  in  the  cities  of  the  East,  and  too 

6 


82  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

bold  and  too  wary  to  be  stamped  out  by  the 
deliberate  machinery  of  the  law. 

Against  these  the  officers  of  the  court  bore 
some  evidence  of  polish.  They  were  exact, 
calculating  men,  bred  to  respect  order,  and 
obey  and  maintain  the  customs  of  law.  The 
contrast  was  significant,  and  one  recalled  and 
understood  the  constant  bitter  conflict  between 
the  judicial  tribunals  of  the  State  and  the 
judicial  tribunals  of  the  Federal  Government, 
bitterly  waged  and  as  yet  undecided.  From 
one  standpoint,  this  was  the  calm  tribunal  of 
the  supreme  power  of  the  land,  providing  the 
same  rights  and  remedies  on  the  very  border 
of  its  jurisdiction  that  it  provided  at  the  capi- 
tal itself,  favoring  no  condition  and  acting  as 
even-eyed  as  nature. 

On  the  other  hand,  one  understood  how  the 
remote  Commonwealth  held  this  court  to  be 
the  tribunal  of  a  far  off  imperial  government, 
seeking  to  enforce  laws  and  customs  foreign 
and  repugnant  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  its 
people.  To  them  the  Federal  judge  was  a 
king's  governor,  travelling  with  his  retinue 
over  a  subjugated  province,  and  enforcing  his 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  83 

edict  by  virtue  of  foreign  armies  quartered 
convenient  to  his  hand.  And,  looking  on 
from  this  point  of  view,  one  understood  why 
the  outpost  State  hated  this  court  so  bitterly, 
and  whence  arose  the  fierce  clamor  against  it. 
One  understood  how  the  far  West  smarted 
under  its  injunctions,  and  denounced  them  as 
the  royal  mandates  of  an  emperor's  consul, 
and  how  the  far  South  collided  with  this  tri- 
bunal and  cried  out  against  it  to  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  in  a  memorial  clanging 
like  a  bell. 

So  the  conflict  was  easy  to  understand,  and 
it  was  easy  to  appreciate  how  large  the  spectre 
of  discord  loomed,  and  most  difficult  indeed  to 
force  the  problem  to  some  happy  end. 

When  the  clerk  had  finished,  the  marshal 
called  the  jury,  and  struggled  bravely,  but 
at  times  unsuccessfully,  with  the  marvellous 
tangle  of  names.  Indeed,  if  the  list  of  this 
panel  had  been  placed  before  a  student  of 
philology,  he  would  have  required  no  further 
history  of  the  civilization  of  the  Southwest. 
When  the  marshal  had  ended,  the  judge 
directed  that  the  jury  should  be  dismissed 


84  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

until  two  o'clock,  and  when  order  was  again 
restored,  the  judge  turned  and  looked  down 
gravely  from  the  bench. 

"  This  court,"  he  said,  "  is  ready  to  pass 
upon  the  matter  taken  under  advisement  yes- 
terday afternoon.  It  seems  that  one  Hiram 
Martin,  a  citizen  of  and  a  resident  in  the  State 
of  New  Mexico,  brought  an  action  in  this  court 
against  Ambercrombie  Hergan  and  others  to 
recover  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
money,  as  it  is  said,  borrowed  by  the  said  Her- 
gan. The  declaration  contained  the  common 
counts  in  assumfisit,  with  which  was  filed,  in 
lieu  of  the  bill  of  particulars,  a  promissory 
note,  made  by  the  said  Hergan  to  the  said 
plaintiff,  calling  for  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and 
endorsed  by  one  Randal  and  another  Culver- 
son.  This  note,  in  addition  to  the  matter 
usually  had  in  such  instruments,  recited  that 
it  was  given  in  accord  with  a  certain  agree- 
ment of  even  date  therewith,  made  and  entered 
into  by  the  parties  to  the  said  note.  The  case 
coming  on  for  trial,  the  defendants,  by  their 
attorney,  appeared  and  filed  their  plea  exhibit- 
ing the  said  agreement,  maintaining  that  the 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  85 

said  note  was  given  for  money  loaned  for  the 
purpose  of  being  used  in  a  gambling  venture, 
and  was,  therefore,  void  at  law.  An  issue 
being  had  upon  the  said  plea,  the  case  was  put 
to  trial,  and  the  said  agreement  having  been 
admitted,  the  defendants,  by  their  attorney, 
moved  this  court  to  exclude  the  evidence,  and 
direct  the  jury  to  find  for  the  defendants; 
which  motion  this  court  took  time  to  consider. 
'  The  facts  herewith  concerned  are  involved 
in  no  controversy,  and  the  agreement  being 
couched  in  plain  terms,  admits  of  no  doubtful 
construction.  It  would  seem  that  the  defend- 
ant Hergan  called  at  the  gambling  house  of 
one  Crawley,  a  resident  of  this  State,  and  re- 
quested a  private  interview  with  the  said  Craw- 
ley  and  the  plaintiff  ;  that  in  this  interview 
Hergan  explained  that  he  was  considering 
what  it  pleased  him  to  denominate  '  a  gam- 
bling venture  in  oil,'  and  solicited  the  two  men 
to  join  him  in  the  venture.  This  they  declined 
to  do,  but  suggested  that  they  would  advance 
to  Hergan  such  money  as  he  might  need  upon 
a  promissory  note  with  good  security. 

It  appears  that  some  controversy  arose  as 


86  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

to  the  rate  of  interest  to  be  paid ;  and  a  divi- 
sion of  the  profits  was  suggested  in  lieu  of  the 
larger  per  cent.  This  matter  was  finally  con- 
cluded by  the  plaintiff  and  the  said  Crawley 
advancing  the  said  sum,  and  taking  therefor 
the  note  filed  in  this  cause,  and  in  addition 
thereto  entering  into  this  agreement  in  writing 
with  the  said  Hergan,  wherein  it  is  set  forth 
that  the  money  loaned  is  to  be  used  by  the 
said  Hergan  for  the  express  purpose  of  '  a 
gamble  in  oil, '  and  for  no  other  purpose ;  and 
that  if  any  profit  should  result  from  said  gam- 
bling venture,  the  said  plaintiff  and  the  said 
Crawley  were  to  receive  one-eighth  of  said 
profits.  It  seems  that  the  money  was  paid 
and  presumably  used  by  Hergan  for  the  pur- 
pose as  stated.  Afterward  the  note  was  pre- 
sented for  payment,  and  being  refused,  was  duly 
protested,  and  later  sued  upon  in  this  court. 
"  It  is  maintained  by  the  defendants  that  this 
transaction  was  contrary  to  public  policy,  and 
that  the  money,  having  been  loaned  for  a 
known  illegal  purpose,  cannot  be  recovered 
in  a  judicial  tribunal,  but  falls  within  the 
purlieus  of  those  matters  which  are  par  se  ex 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  87 

turpe  causa,  and  for  which  the  law  provides  no 
remedy.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  urged  by 
counsel  for  the  plaintiff  that  the  transaction  as 
between  the  parties  to  this  suit  was  entirely 
commercial  and  innocent ;  that  the  plaintiff  is 
a  mere  lender  of  money  in  a  bona  fide  transac- 
tion, and  is  in  no  wise  a  party  to  any  illegal 
proceeding,  and  that  the  mere  use  to  which 
the  money  was  put  is  a  matter  of  no  moment. 
'  The  law,  being  for  the  welfare  and  the  pro- 
tection of  human  society,  refuses  to  recognize 
and  enforce  certain  contracts  had  among  its 
citizens,  when  those  contracts  are  founded  in 
moral  turpitude  or  inconsistent  with  the  good 
order  or  solid  interests  of  society. 

'  No  people,'  declares  Chancellor  Kent  in 
his  Commentaries,  '  are  bound  or  ought  to  en- 
force or  hold  valid  in  their  courts  of  justice  any 
contract  which  is  injurious  to  the  public  rights 
or  offends  their  morals  or  contravenes  their 
policy  or  violates  a  public  law. '  Hence  con- 
tracts having  an  illegal  or  immoral  considera- 
tion, or  tending  to  the  violation  of  law  or  the 
debauching  of  public  morals,  are  held  to  be 
contra  bonas  mores,  and  are  void. 


88  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  It  is  said  that  the  object  of  all  law  is  to 
suppress  vice,  and  to  promote  the  general  wel- 
fare of  society,  and  it  does  not  give  its  assist- 
ance to  persons  to  enforce  a  demand  originating 
in  their  breach  or  violation  of  its  principles  and 
enactments.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  law 
expressly  prohibit  or  enjoin  an  act.  It  may 
impliedly  prohibit  or  enjoin  it.  In  either  case 
a  contract  in  violation  of  its  principles  is  void 
under  the  wholesome  maxim  ex  turpi  causa  non 
oritur  actio. 

"  It  may  happen,  and,  indeed,  frequently 
does  happen,  that  the  individual  suffers  great 
hurt  from  this  sweeping  policy  of  the  law,  but 
it  is  held  that  the  good  of  the  commonwealth 
rises  above  the  mere  benefit  of  the  individual 
citizen,  and  that  where  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  of  society  is  involved,  the  law  will  not 
pause  to  consider  the  injury  entailed  upon  the 
mere  unit.  Hence  the  policy  of  government 
in  the  exigencies  of  war,  when  protection  must 
be  had  against  violence,  and  the  policy  of  gov- 
ernment in  the  peaceful  administration  of  the 
law,  when  protection  must  be  had  against  vice. 

"  Thus  gambling,  wagering,  and  all  gambling 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  89 

and  wagering  contracts  and  transactions  are 
illegal  as  against  public  policy,  since  they  are 
repugnant  to  the  well-being  of  society,  fraught 
with  vice,  pregnant  with  demoralization,  and 
corrupting  alike  to  the  youth  and  to  the  aged, 
as  they  inspire  a  hope  of  reward  without  labor. 

"It  is  significant  that  in  matters  of  this 
nature  human  society  has  been  progressive. 
Under  the  common  law  of  England  wagers 
were  not  unlawful  or  unenforceable,  but  the 
statute  of  Qth  Anne  followed  and  altered  the 
common  law,  and  the  statutes  of  8th  and  9th 
Victoria  altered  it  yet  farther,  and  in  the 
United  States  every  separate  Commonwealth 
has  its  respective  statute  striking  at  this  vice. 

"  I  think  it  will  not  at  this  day  be  denied 
that  all  transactions  in  stocks,  by  way  of  mar- 
gin, settlement  of  differences,  and  payment  of 
gains  or  losses,  without  intending  to  deliver  the 
stocks,  is  a  gambling  or  wagering  operation 
which  the  law  does  not  sanction,  and  will  not 
carry  into  effect ;  and  it  has  been  held  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the 
case  of  Irwin  vs.  Williar,  '  If  under  the  guise 
of  a  contract  to  deliver  goods  at  a  future  day 


go  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

the  real  intent  be  to  speculate  in  the  rise  or 
fall  of  prices,  and  the  goods  are  not  to  be  de- 
livered, but  one  party  is  to  pay  to  the  other 
the  difference  between  the  contract  price  and 
the  market  price  of  the  goods  at  the  date  fixed 
for  executing  the  contract,  the  whole  transac- 
tion is  nothing  more  than  a  wager,  and  is  null 
and  void.'  And  that  '  Generally  in  this 
country  wagering  contracts  are  held  to  be 
illegal  and  void  as  against  public  policy.' 

"  Indeed  the  courts  of  the  land  have  gone 
to  the  extremity  of  denouncing  in  no  uncertain 
terms  the  dangerous  character  of  these  illegal 
ventures.  Judge  Blanford,  in  the  case  of  Cun- 
ningham vs.  The  National  Bank  of  Augusta, 
in  speaking  of  these  transactions  termed 
'  futures,'  declares:  '  If  this  is  not  a  specula- 
tion on  chances  —  a  wagering  and  betting 
between  the  parties,  then  we  are  unable  to 
understand  the  transaction.  A  betting  on  a 
game  of  faro  or  poker  cannot  be  more  hazar- 
dous, dangerous,  or  uncertain.  Indeed  it  may 
be  said  that  these  animals  are  tame,  gentle, 
and  submissive  compared  to  this  monster. 
The  law  has  caged  them  and  driven  them  to 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  91 

the  den.  They  have  been  outlawed;  while 
this  ferocious  beast  has  been  allowed  to  stalk 
about  in  open  mid-day  with  gilded  signs  and 
flaming  advertisements  to  lure  the  unhappy 
victim  to  its  embrace  of  death  and  destruction. 
What  are  some  of  the  consequences  of  these 
speculations  in  '  futures  '  ?  The  faithful 
chroniclers  of  the  day  have  informed  us,  as 
growing  directly  out  of  these  nefarious  prac- 
tices, that  there  have  been  bankruptcies,  de- 
falcations of  public  officers,  embezzlements, 
forgeries,  larcenies,  and  deaths.  Certainly  no 
one  will  contend  for  a  moment  that  a  transac- 
tion fraught  with  such  evil  consequences  is  not 
immoral,  illegal,  and  contrary  to  public  policy. ' 
"  In  so  far  as  this  doctrine  is  concerned  with 
the  case  at  bar,  it  is  certain  that  the  parties 
understood  and  intended  that  the  money 
loaned  should  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
gaging in  an  illegal  speculation  in  oil, — '  a 
gamble  in  oil,'  as  it  is  termed  in  the  agree- 
ment, and  that  such  gambling  transactions  are 
against  public  policy  and  the  law  of  the  land. 
But  it  is  contended  by  learned  counsel  that  all 
this  can  have  no  bearing  upon  the  case  at  bar 


92  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

for  the  reason  that  in  the  cases  heretofore  cited 
announcing  these  conclusions  of  law,  the  liti- 
gants were  the  parties  who  dealt  with  or  for 
each  other,  and  were  the  immediate  parties 
engaged  in  an  unlawful  gambling  venture,  and 
the  ones  to  gain  or  lose  directly  by  the  venture, 
and  not  a  mere  stranger  who  loaned  money  to 
another  to  engage  in  such  transactions,  and 
having  but  an  undetermined  interest  in  the  re- 
sult ;  and  that  the  law  will  not  lend  its  aid  to  a 
further  wrong.  The  defendant  having  com- 
mitted one  wrong  cannot  be  permitted  to  use 
his  first  wrongful  act  as  an  instrument  whereby 
to  effect  a  second  wrongful  act. 

"  The  objection  is  ingenious,  but  I  judge 
fully  met  by  the  declaration  of  Lord  Mansfield 
in  Holman's  case:  '  The  objection,'  said  the 
learned  judge,  '  that  a  contract  is  immoral  or 
illegal  as  between  plaintiff  and  defendant, 
sounds  at  all  times  very  ill  in  the  mouth  of 
the  defendant.  It  is  not  for  his  sake,  how- 
ever, that  the  objection  is  allowed,  but  it  is 
founded  on  the  general  principle  of  policy 
which  the  defendant  has  the  advantage  of,  con- 
trary to  the  real  justice  as  between  himself  and 


The  Governor  s  Machine.  93 

plaintiff,  by  accident,  if  I  may  so  say.  The 
principle  of  public  policy  is  this :  ex  dolo  malo 
non  oritur  actio.  No  court  will  lend  its  aid  to 
a  man  who  founds  his  cause  of  action  upon  an 
immoral  or  illegal  act.  If  from  the  plaintiff's 
own  statement  or  otherwise  the  cause  of  action 
appear  to  arise  ex  turpi  causa,  or  the  transgres- 
sion of  a  positive  law  of  this  country,  then  the 
court  says  he  has  no  right  to  be  assisted.  It 
is  upon  that  ground  the  court  goes,  not  for  the 
sake  of  the  defendant,  but  because  it  will  not 
lend  its  aid  to  such  a  plaintiff.' 

"  This  claim  of  the  plaintiff  to  this  action  is 
unsound  for  the  further  reason  that  any  prom- 
ise, contract,  or  undertaking  the  performance 
of  which  would  tend  to  promote,  advance,  or 
carry  into  effect  an  object  or  purpose  which  is 
unlawful,  is  itself  void  and  will  not  maintain 
an  action.  The  law  which  prohibits  the  end, 
will  not  lend  its  aid  in  promoting  the  means 
assigned  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Nor  is  it  pos- 
sible for  an  act  contrary  to  law  to  be  made  the 
basis  of  a  contract  enforceable  in  courts  of  law. 
Hence  when  one  lends  money  to  another  for 
the  express  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  commit 


94  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

a  specific  unlawful  act,  and  such  act  be  after- 
wards committed  by  means  of  the  aid  so  re- 
ceived, the  lender  is  a  particeps  criminisy  and 
the  law  will  not  aid  him  to  recover  money 
advanced  for  such  a  purpose,  and  much  less 
would  it  assist  him,  if,  as  in  this  case,  he  re- 
tained an  interest  in  the  result  of  the  venture. " 

It  was  very  unusual  for  counsel  to  interrupt 
the  judge  in  the  delivery  of  his  opinion,  but  at 
this  point  the  attorney  for  Martin  arose. 

"  If  your  honor  please,"  he  said,  "  this  court 
is  taking  away  the  remedy  of  the  plaintiff,  and 
permitting  the  wrong  to  stand.  Does  this 
court  reverse  the  ancient  doctrine  upon  which 
the  theory  of  human  justice  has  its  eternal 
basis,  the  ancient  doctrine  that  the  law  will 
always  provide  a  remedy  for  a  wrong  ?  " 

The  faintest  shadow  of  a  smile  flitted  over 
the  judicial  face. 

' '  That  sage  maxim :  '  lex  semper  dabit  reme- 
dium,'  "  answered  the  judge,  "  is  a  gigantic 
error  couched  in  very  good  law  Latin.  The 
motion  to  exclude  the  evidence  is  sustained, 
and  the  jury  will  find  a  verdict  for  the  de- 
fendants." 


'T'HE  Governor's  machine  marched  gravely 
1  out  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States  and  down  the  wide  steps,  the  Major 
leading,  the  Executive  following  second,  and 
the  Honorable  Ambercrombie  Hergan  bringing 
up  the  rear,  every  man  as  silent  and  as  solemn 
as  a  Japanese  diplomat.  The  machine  passed 
through  the  great  arched  doorway  and  directly 
across  the  street  to  "The  Happy  Maria" 
saloon,  an  institution  with  a  variegated  past. 
The  machine  filed  in  through  the  door  and 
lined  up  before  the  bar  as  mysteriously  as  a 
country  delegation  in  a  caucus. 

The  Bartender  of  "  The  Happy  Maria  "  was 
a  lame  actor  from  St.  Louis.  When  he  turned 
and  beheld  the  solemn  array,  he  stepped  back 
and  tapped  his  forehead  tragically  with  his 
fingers. 

95 


96  The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Ha  !  "  he  muttered,  "it  is  Ulfius  and 
Brastias  and  Sir  Bedivere." 

To  this  no  response  was  made,  except  that 
the  Major  raised  his  hand  and  pointed  to  the 
bottle  of "  Dougherty  "  reposing  on  the  second 
shelf  beside  the  box  of  "  scrap  "  and  the  pro- 
prietor's pistol-belt.  The  bartender  hurried 
forward,  took  down  the  bottle,  placed  three 
little  glasses  on  the  bar  and  began  to  fill  them. 
When  he  came  to  the  third  glass,  he  paused 
and  set  down  the  bottle.  A  puzzled  expres- 
sion gathered  on  his  face.  He  thrust  his  fore- 
finger into  his  mouth  and  began  to  lisp : 

' '  Be  there  two  or  be  there  three 
In  our  king's  companee  ?  " 

The  Major  turned  just  in  time  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  Governor  as  he  vanished  in  a 
telegraph  office  next  door;  then  he  swung 
around  toward  the  barkeeper  with  the  drama- 
tic abandon  of  a  professional  at  a  benefit. 

"  Pour  on,  good  seneschal,"  he  cried;  "  it  is 
the  man  who  would  be  married.  He  hastens 
with  glad  tidings  to  the  well  beloved.  He  will 
return." 


MRS.   VAN   BARTAN 

(See  the  famous  opinion  of  Henry  St.  George  Tucker, 
President  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Virginia,  in  the  leading 
case  of  Gallego's  Executors  vs.  Attorney  General,  3  Leigh, 
450 ;  also  the  opinion  of  John  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  case  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Philadelphia 
Baptist  Association  et  al.  vs.  Hart's  Executors,  4  Wheaton's 
U.  S.  Reports,  330  ;  also  Knox  vs.  Knox's  Executors,  9  W. 
Va.,  125  ;  29  W.  Va.,  169,  and  cases  cited.) 


MRS.  VAN  BARTAN 


"    A  LL  this,"   said   Randolph  Mason,  "  is 

/~V     the  veriest  nonsense. ' ' 

The  younger  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  straightened 
up  in  her  chair  and  looked  sharply  at  the  coun- 
sellor. She  was  a  woman  of  magnificent  pres- 
ence, with  a  great  fleece  of  yellow  hair,  fine 
eyes,  and  regular,  clear-cut  features. 

'.'  Do  you  mean  that  it  is  not  the  truth  ? " 
she  asked. 

'  Half  truth,"  responded  Mason. 
'  Then,"  said  the  woman,  smiling,  "it  is 
only  half  nonsense." 

"  Madam,"  said  Randolph  Mason,  "  if  you 
desire   my   aid,  you  must  explain  this  entire 
matter.     I  do  not  choose  to  guess  riddles." 
99 


ioo          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  I  have  told  you,"  began  the  young 
woman,  slowly,  "  that  my  husband  and  myself 
reside  with  his  mother  in  a  certain  city  of  the 
Virginias ;  that  his  father  is  dead,  and,  by  his 
will,  left  his  entire  property  to  the  elder  Mrs. 
Van  Bartan — my  mother-in-law;  that  was  all 
true." 

The  counsellor  nodded. 

"  The  other  part,"  she  went  on,  "  I  was 
trying  to  put  into  a  '  hypothetical  case  ' — is  n't 
that  what  you  call  it  ?  " 

She  hesitated  for  a  moment. 

"  It  is  hard  to  tell,  and  I  was  only  trying  to 
save  myself,  but  I  suppose  the  surgeon  is  quite 
useless  if  the  wound  is  not  fully  revealed.  If 
you  will  listen  to  me  I  will  explain.  It  is  hard 
to  tell,  and  it  hurts,  but  everything  is  at  stake, 
and  if  I  lose  now  I  lose  everything.  It  will 
simply  mean  that  I  have  made  sacrifice  after 
sacrifice  for  nothing  at  all.  One  shrinks  from 
putting  one's  heart  upon  a  dissecting  table 
where  the  valves  may  be  pinned  back  and  pried 
into  with  the  point  of  a  scalpel,  and  so  one 
struggles  with  a  hurt  until  it  finally  aches  so 
bitterly  that  the  expert  must  be  had.  Then 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  101 

one  goes  to  the  surgeon  or  the  priest  or  the 
lawyer,  and  takes  an  anaesthetic  while  he  cuts 
it  out." 

"  Madam,"  said  Randolph  Mason,  "  you 
talk  like  a  diplomat :  you  say  nothing  at  all. ' ' 

The  younger  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  unbuttoned 
her  coat  and  threw  it  back  with  the  air  of  one 
who  has  ultimately  decided  to  keep  nothing  in 
reserve. 

"  I  have  been  married  three  years,"  she 
began,  "  my  father's  name  is  Summers.  In 
the  good  days  of  Virginia  our  family  was 
wealthy,  but  of  late  years  we  have  met  with 
one  disaster  after  another  until  the  family  be- 
came very  poor,  and  the  effort  to  maintain  an 
appearance  of  respectability  was  a  nipping 
struggle  indeed. 

"  About  this  time  the  coal  industries  of 
West  Virginia  began  to  develop,  and  our 
city  became  a  manufacturing  centre.  This 
brought  in  many  Eastern  capitalists,  among 
them  Michael  Van  Bartan,  who  established 
great  iron  mills,  out  of  which  he  made  a  vast 
fortune.  Shortly  thereafter  he  died,  leaving 
his  widow  and  one  son,  Gerald  Van  Bartan. 


IO2          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

This  woman  I  have  never  quite  understood. 
After  the  death  of  her  husband,  she  main- 
tained their  country  place  in  almost  profligate 
magnificence,  but  she  has  always  seemed  ter- 
ribly disappointed  in  her  son.  He  was  a  good, 
easy-going  fellow,  and  his  mother,  an  ambi- 
tious, restless  woman,  had  great  plans  for  his 
future.  But,  failing  that,  and  being  a  person 
of  shrewd  instinct,  she  set  about  finding  for 
him  an  ambitious  wife,  who  would  probably 
be  able  to  succeed  where  she  had  failed.  But 
while  the  mother  was  striving  to  select  a  suit- 
able woman  for  her  purpose,  the  son  paid  court 
to  me, — and  I  married  him." 

The  young  woman  paused  for  a  moment, 
and  the  lines  of  her  mouth  hardened.  Then 
she  went  on : 

"  He  was  not  quite  the  person  with  whom  I 
had  hoped  to  spend  my  life,  but  he  had  wealth, 
and  we  were  so  miserably  poor, — and,  I  judge 
after  all,  one  is  never  permitted  to  do  just  what 
one  wishes  in  this  weary  world.  This  marriage 
was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  Mrs.  Van  Bar- 
tan,  but  she  was  a  woman  with  the  resources 
of  an  empress.  She  came  at  once  to  me,  and, 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  103 

with  the  kindest  and  most  gracious  courtesy, 
welcomed  me  as  her  daughter,  and  began  at 
once  to  shower  upon  me  the  most  substantial 
evidences  of  her  good  will.  We  were  taken 
to  live  with  her  at  the  country  place,  and 
everything  was  done  that  a  shrewd  woman 
could  imagine  to  bring  me  completely  under 
her  influence,  and,  through  me,  to  move  my 
husband  to  the  effort  which  she  desired.  But 
it  was  all  an  utter  failure. 

"  I  appreciated  thoroughly  the  incapacity  of 
Gerald  Van  Bartan,  and  said  as  much  to  his 
mother.  I  went  deliberately  to  her  and 
pointed  out  how  very  vain  her  ambition  was, 
and  how  certainly  it  must  come  to  nothing. 
I  said  how  difficult  it  was  for  men  to  lift  them- 
selves even  the  least  bit  higher  than  their 
fellows ;  how  it  required  years  of  labor  and  self- 
denial  and  courage.  I  reminded  her  that  my 
husband  had  not  one  of  the  qualities  necessary 
for  such  work ;  that  he  was  not  industrious,  and 
not  ambitious  she  knew  well ;  that  the  habits 
of  the  man  had  been  formed,  and  this  work 
could  not  be  now  undone. 

"  Then  I  blundered  like  a  fool.     I  said  that 


IO4         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

wealth  had  caused  these  habits  to  become 
fixed,  and  that  we  must  accept  him  as  his 
luxurious  life  had  made  him;  that  if  he  had 
been  thrown  out  to  struggle  with  poverty, 
some  qualities  might  have  been  developed, 
but  that  he  had  never  been  forced  to  feel  the 
necessity  for  an  effort,  and  consequently  he 
had  never  called  his  faculties  into  use,  nor 
could  he  now,  since  the  necessity  did  not  arise. 
I  begged  her  to  abandon  the  effort  as  vexatious 
and  entirely  hopeless. 

"  To  all  this  the  elder  Mrs.  Van  Bartan 
listened  attentively  and  made  no  comment. 
When  I  had  finished,  she  laughed,  and  said 
that  I  had  entirely  misapprehended  her  inten- 
tions toward  her  son ;  that  she  had  no  object 
in  life  but  to  make  us  as  happy  as  it  were  pos- 
sible to  do,  but  that  one  could  not  tell  what 
conditions  might  arise,  and  she  had  wished 
simply  to  put  her  son  in  a  position  to  care  for 
himself  and  me,  if  it  ever  should  be  necessary. 
Then  she  stroked  my  hair,  as  she  might  have 
done  to  a  child,  and  bade  me  not  worry  over 
trifles.  I  now  congratulated  myself  that  the 
matter  was  finally  settled,  but  I  was  fearfully 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  105 

wrong.  I  had  read  this  remarkable  woman 
poorly.  Although  again  beaten,  she  was  un- 
conquered,  and  she  determined  upon  a  final 
desperate  move.  Perhaps  my  foolish  prattle^ 
furnished  the  suggestion,  but  it  is  rather  more 
probable,  I  think,  that  her  master  mind  evolved 
the  plan  out  of  what  she  considered  a  desperate 
condition." 

The  woman's  face  was  now  grave,  and  she 
seemed  deeply  in  earnest. 

"  It  was  the  plan  of  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  to  con- 
vince my  husband  and  myself  that  future  pov- 
erty was  impending,  but  just  how  to  make  this 
impression  strongly  probable,  was  a  matter  of 
great  difficulty,  and  one  which  she  appreciated 
fully.  In  order  to  do  this  effectually,  it  was 
necessary  for  her,  in  some  manner,  apparently 
to  dispose  of  her  property,  and  at  the  same 
time  actually  to  retain  it  in  possession. 

"This  was  a  difficult  problem,  but  difficult 
problems  were  not  appalling  to  Mrs.  Van  Bar- 
tan,  and  she  finally  determined  upon  this 
shrewd  scheme.  She  would  make  a  will,  leav- 
ing her  entire  estate  at  her  death  to  the  church 
of  which  she  was  a  member,  and  entirely  disin- 


io6         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

heriting  my  husband.  This  will  could  have 
the  effect  she  desired,  and  at  the  same  time 
leave  her  unhampered  in  the  use  of  her  prop- 
erty, and  free  to  destroy  this  will  or  make 
another  at  her  pleasure.  This  is  now  her  plan. 
How  I  have  discovered  it  is  not  of  importance, 
since  it  is  a  part  of  her  plan  in  this  matter  to 
have  me  suspect  her  intention  and  finally  to 
have  me  believe  that  she  has  decided  to  cut  us 
off  without  a  dollar.  Having  determined  upon 
this  move,  she  will  carry  it  through  with  the 
skill  of  a  master  strategist.  She  will  have  the 
paper  drawn  by  her  legal  adviser  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses ;  she  will  declare  her  intention  to 
the  most  substantial  people  of  our  city,  and 
will  take  good  care  to  see  that  her  act  is  made 
known  through  the  most  reliable  sources. 
There  will  be  no  blunder  anywhere, — Mrs. 
Van  Bartan  does  not  blunder." 

"  Has  this  will  been  drafted  ?  "  asked  Ran- 
dolph Mason. 

"  No,"  replied  the  young  woman,  "  but  it 
will  be  made  soon.  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  is  now 
preparing  public  opinion  for  her  act.  She  is 
far  too  wise  to  hurry." 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  107 

"  I  see  no  danger  in  all  this,"  said  Mason, 
"since  it  is  not  this  woman's  intention  to 
really  disinherit  her  son.  Ultimately  she  will 
destroy  this  document  or  make  another." 

"  But,"  said  the  young  woman,  bending  for- 
ward in  her  chair,  "  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  is  afflicted 
with  an  aortic  aneurism,  and  may  drop  dead  at 
any  moment.  This  she  refuses  to  believe,  and 
although  she  has  been  examined  by  celebrated 
specialists,  she  stoutly  asserts  that  her  health 
is  as  good  as  it  ever  was  in  her  whole  life. 

"  Now  suppose  she  makes  this  will  and  dies 
suddenly  without  having  an  opportunity  to 
make  another.  What  then  ?  Her  intention 
will  not  help  us.  This  will  holds,  and  we  are 
left  entirely  without  a  dollar  in  the  world. 
Now,  what  am  I  to  do  to  save  us  ?  It  is  of  no 
use  to  go  to  Mrs.  Van  Bartan.  She  is  an  iron 
woman.  She  has  her  plan,  and  Heaven  could 
not  change  her  in  the  least.  I  must  do  some- 
thing. It  all  depends  on  me,  and  I  don't 
know  which  way  to  turn.  You  must  show  me 
some  way;  you  must  do  something." 

Randolph  Mason  turned  around  in  his  chair 
and  looked  squarely  at  the  young  woman. 


io8         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Madam,"  he  said,  "  you  have  neglected  to 
tell  me  the  most  important  matter." 

"  Oh,  no,  sir,"  responded  the  younger  Mrs. 
Van  Bartan,  "  I  have  told  you  everything." 

"  By  no  means,"  said  Mason.  "  You  have 
said  that  Mr.  Van  Bartan  is  not  the  man  with 
whom  you  had  hoped  to  spend  your  life.  Who 
is  that  man  ?  " 

The  young  woman  looked  down  at  the  floor 
and  was  silent. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  don't  know  that  I 
meant  quite  that.  I  was  meaning,  you  know, 
that  there  were  other  considerations  moving 
me  to  this  alliance  beyond  mere  affection.  I 
41  did  not  say  that  I  loved  some  one  else,  did  I  ? 
Did  I  say  I  loved  some  one  else  ?  " 

"  You  evade,"  said  Mason,  bluntly.  "  It  is 
the  weakling's  method  of  confession,  and  as 
well  the  fool's  method." 

The  blood  came  into  the  face  of  the  younger 
Mrs.  Van  Bartan,  and  she  looked  up  resolutely. 

'  You  don't  spare  me  at  all,"  she  said,  bit- 
terly. "  You  pry  out  everything,  even  the 
very  heart  linings.  Suppose  I  did  love  some 
one  else,  what  has  that  to  do  with  this  matter  ? 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  109 

That  is  all  over  and  past  and  gone.  Can't  I 
permit  it  to  sleep  and  be  forgotten  ?  Suppose 
there  was  another  man  ?  Suppose  there  is  now  ? 
Must  I  empty  out  his  heart  too  ?  Can't  I 
spare  him  ?  Can't  I  leave  him  out  of  this  ?  " 

"I  am  waiting,  madam,"  said  Mason, 
quietly. 

The  young  woman  passed  her  hand  down- 
ward over  her  face,  as  though  to  remove  some- 
thing that  was  clinging  to  her. 

"  If  you  must  know,"  she  said  slowly,  "  his 
name  is  Dalton,  Robert  Dalton,  a  member  of 
the  law  firm  of  Carpenter,  Lomax,  &  Dalton, 
of  our  city.  He  is  said  to  be  an  able  lawyer. 
He  is  the  elder  Mrs.  Van  Bartan's  legal  ad- 
viser, but  I  have  no  right  to  tell  you  all  this. 
It  is  unjust  to  him,  and  unjust  to  me,  and 
unfair  to  us  all." 

"  And  he  still  loves  you  ? "  said  Mason,  with 
the  blunt  indifference  of  a  surgeon  who  thrusts 
his  thumb  into  a  wound. 

The   young  woman   threw  back  her  head. 
'  You  are  brutal,"  she  cried,  "  to  ask  such  a 
question,  and  I  should  be  a  fool,  a  miserable, 
contemptible  fool  if  I  should  answer." 


no          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

41  But  you  have  answered  it,  madam,"  re- 
plied  Randolph  Mason. 

The  younger  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands,  and  began  to  sob.  The 
counsellor  sat  and  watched  her,  as  an  expert 
might  watch  an  intricate  piece  of  machinery 
that  he  was  testing.  There  was  no  emotion  of 
any  sort  visible  in  his  face — nothing  at  all, 
except  the  intense  interest  of  the  expert. 

Presently  Mason  leaned  back  in  his  chair. 
The  result  was  evidently  satisfactory. 

"  Is  this  man  married  ?  "  he  asked. 

The  woman  did  not  answer.  She  simply 
pressed  her  hands  tighter  against  her  face. 
The  counsellor  waited  for  a  few  moments. 
Then  he  repeated : 

"  Is  this  man  married  ?  " 

The  woman's  hands  trembled  violently. 
"No,"  she  sobbed,  "  and  he  never  will  be." 

The  lines  in  the  face  of  Randolph  Mason 
grew  deep  and  resolute  as  one  has  seen  the 
lines  in  the  face  of  a  great  physician  when,  in 
some  desperate  case,  he  finally  turned  from  the 
bedside  of  the  patient  in  order  to  write  the 
prescription  upon  which  he  had  decided. 


Mrs.  Van  Bartan.  1 1 1 

"  Madam,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  that  was  firm 
and  admitted  of  no  protest,  "  this  man  Dalton 
is  perhaps  a  person  of  some  learning.  Since 
he  is  your  mother-in-law's  legal  adviser,  he  will 
have  the  matter  in  his  hands.  He  is  under 
your  influence.  Could  a  problem  be  more 
simple  ?  You  have  but  to  go  to  him  and  say 
what  you  have  said  to  me.  He  will  know  what 
to  do." 

She  dropped  her  hands  in  astonishment. 

' '  Go  to  him  ?    Go  to  him  ? ' '  she  repeated. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mason,  "  and  tell  him  the 
truth, — and  wait." 

"  But,"  began  the  younger  Mrs.  Van  Bartan, 
"  how  could  he  help  me  ?  What  could " 

"  Madam,"  interrupted  Mason,  rising,  "  this 
is  your  coat,  I  believe.  Permit  my  clerk  to 
assist  you  to  your  carriage. ' ' 


II 


ROBERT  DALTON  was  of  good  blood, 
having  descended  from  colonial  families 
of  degree.  He  was  perhaps  in  his  middle 
thirties,  in  appearance  no  usual  man,  straight 
as  a  spire,  with  a  powerful  face  in  which  every 
feature  seemed  prominent ;  hair  rather  prema- 
turely gray,  and  soft  and  clinging  as  a  woman's, 
and  withal  a  manner  courtly  to  such  a  degree 
that  the  young,  and  those  others  unskilled  in 
divining  the  natures  of  men,  associated  with 
Mr.  Dalton  relations  of  a  so-called  romantic 
nature.  This  conclusion  was  grossly  erroneous, 
and  led  to  much  profitless  gossip.  In  fact, 
Robert  Dalton  was  a  stern  and  practical  man 
of  large  legal  acquirements,  with  no  more 
romance  in  his  composition  than  a  ship  carpen- 
ter. In  the  practice  of  his  profession  he  was 
always  cold,  clear-headed,  and  technical,  be- 
ns 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  113 

Heving  no  man,  and  fearing  no  man ;  in  truth, 
the  wags  asserted,  his  courtesy  was  in  itself  a 
libel,  because  of  all  members  of  the  bar  no 
one  was  more  rigid,  more  exacting,  or  more 
relentless  than  Robert  Dalton,  of  Carpenter, 
Lomax,  &  Dalton. 

The  mental  build  of  young  Dalton  rendered 
him  especially  valuable  as  a  chancery  lawyer, 
and  this  department  of  the  business  he  gradu- 
ally assumed  until  it  was  almost  entirely  in  his 
hands.  For  years  he  drafted  all  difficult  plead- 
ings, especially  difficult  under  the  rigid  practice 
of  the  common  law  obtaining  in  the  Virginias. 
He  drafted  likewise  all  deeds,  wills,  and  papers 
of  like  tenor,  with  such  unusual  care  and  skill 
that  he  rapidly  gained  a  reputation, — the  sort 
of  reputation  which  it  usually  requires  a  life- 
time to  establish,  and  the  value  of  which  is 
above  rubies. 

When  the  judges  spoke  of  him  they  said, 
"  If  Mr.  Dalton  prepared  this  paper  it  is  prob- 
ably correct." 

It  would  be  unwise  to  attribute  to  young 
Dalton  an  utter  disregard  for  social  relations. 
The  error  of  such  an  assertion  would  readily 

8 


H4         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

be  detected  by  those  who  knew  him.  In  fact, 
he  was  usually  present  at  prominent  social 
functions,  and  largely  sought  after  by  reason 
of  his  magnetic  nature  and  the  charm  of  his 
vigorous  mind. 

The  father  of  young  Dalton  had  been  a  man 
of  improvident  habits,  and,  immediately  upon 
the  death  of  his  wife,  squandered  his  large 
estate  in  the  riot  of  dissipation,  so  that  his 
son  inherited  nothing  but  a  dilapidated  manor- 
house  and  a  single  slave.  This  servant,  a  pure 
negro,  was  deeply  attached  to  young  Dalton, 
and  the  two  continued  to  reside  in  the  manor- 
house  near  the  city  suburbs,  the  negro  acting 
as  cook,  valet,  and  man-of-all-work.  This 
manor-house  was  one  of  the  first  built  in  the 
Virginias.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  long,  ill- 
kept  lawn,  in  which  the  ancient  knotted  oaks 
seemed  to  stand  guard  over  the  memory  of 
some  departed  greatness.  The  house  itself, 
covered  with  the  green  Virginia  creeper,  was 
little  better  than  a  ruin.  The  plaster  had 
fallen  away  from  the  great  pillars,  and  the 
walls  were  cracked,  in  places,  almost  to  the 
roof. 


Mr s.  Van  Bar  tan.  115 

Strangely  enough,  Robert  Dalton  never  at- 
tempted to  repair  the  estate,  taking  pride  rather 
in  its  air  of  decay.  This  statement  is  not  en- 
tirely accurate.  He  did,  indeed,  fit  up  the 
ancient  drawing-room  for  the  purposes  of  a 
library,  thrusting  in  rows  of  bookcases  beside 
long  antique  mirrors  and  mahogany  window 
seats.  These  bookcases  were  filled  entirely 
with  reports  of  courts,  late  digests,  the  deci- 
sions of  tribunals  of  last  resort,  and  volume 
after  volume  on  wills,  contracts,  and  corpora- 
tions, but  scarcely  a  volume  on  standard  or 
current  literature.  For  these  latter  he  had  no 
inclination,  and,  as  he  apologetically  explained, 
no  time. 

In  this  library,  Dalton  did  most  of  his  legal 
work,  obtaining  here  freedom  from  interrup- 
tion and  the  quiet  which  he  required. 

As  the  city  developed,  this  neglected  subur- 
ban street  was  seized  upon  and  assumed  as  the 
fashionable  quarter  by  the  wealthy  Eastern 
families.  They  paved  it  far  into  the  country, 
and  ruthlessly  wiped  out  the  splendid  old 
homesteads,  erecting  on  their  ruins  ostenta- 
tious palaces  with  prim  lawns,  reminding  one 


1 1 6         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

not  a  little  of  that  civilized  vandalism  which 
would  cut  out  from  its  frame  the  superb  paint- 
ing of  a  landscape  and  replace  therein  a  prac- 
tical and  entirely  accurate  map  of  the  same 
landscape. 

These  wealthy  families  swept  out,  too,  the 
old  social  customs  of  this  city,  setting  up 
elaborate  formalities  and  impoverishing  stand- 
ards of  dress  and  entertainment. 

The  recognized  leader  was  Mrs.  LeConte 
Dean,  the  wife  of  a  nail  manufacturer  of  vast 
wealth.  Her  receptions  were  the  society 
events.  Indeed,  it  has  been  said  that  recogni- 
tion  by  this  newly  rich  importation  determined 
one's  social  status. 

The  Van  Bartans  were  another  of  these 
wealthy  families  coming  directly  from  the  city 
of  New  York.  The  father  had  founded  gigan- 
tic iron  mills  from  which  he  had  gathered  a 
princely  revenue.  Upon  his  death,  the  wife, 
a  grim  woman  of  frightful  prejudices,  had 
continued  to  maintain  their  country  place  in 
sumptuous,  albeit  rather  frigid,  elegance. 
They  had  one  child,  Gerald  Van  Bartan,  an 
utterly  worthless  young  man  of  extravagant 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  117 

habits  and  wandering  aims  ;  nevertheless,  a 
youth  of  generosity  and  kindly  impulses.  The 
boy  was  a  source  of  ceaseless  vexation  to  his 
mother. 

Carpenter,  Lomax,  &  Dalton  were  her  solicit- 
ors ;  especially  Robert  Dalton,  in  whom  she 
reposed  the  greatest  confidence,  and  not  in- 
frequently she  spoke  to  him  at  great  length  of 
her  difficulties  with  her  son,  and  usually  con- 
cluded by  working  herself  into  a  towering  rage. 

When  one  morning  in  the  early  autumn  it 
was  announced  that  Gerald  Van  Bartan  was 
very  shortly  to  wed  Miss  Columbia  Summers, 
a  young  lady  of  great  beauty  and  of  aristo- 
cratic lineage,  but  of  reduced  and  nipping 
finances,  the  city  was  very  justly  indignant. 
Robert  Dalton  had  for  many  years  paid  court 
to  this  young  woman,  and  the  self-constituted 
match-makers  had  long  since  entered  up  their 
decree  in  this  matter  and  dismissed  it,  and 
they  resented,  as  almost  a  personal  affront,  the 
going  afield  of  their  plans. 

Thereupon  idle  folk  prattled  of  the  great 
blow  to  Dalton,  his  broken  heart,  and  other 
drivel.  There  was  no  evidence  that  Robert 


1 1 8         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

Dalton  had  any  other  than  a  passing  interest 
in  this  matter,  and  neither  his  partners  nor 
those  others  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
man  suspected  that  this  gossip  contained  any 
element  of  truth.  Indeed,  he  had  come  to  be 
regarded  as  of  stoical  build. 

When  this  rumor  came  to  the  ears  of  Mrs. 
Van  Bartan,  she  received  it  with  almost  sus- 
picious composure,  and  a  few  days  later  sent 
for  Dalton,  her  solicitor,  and  inquired  if  she 
could  dispose  of  her  entire  property.  To  this 
Dalton  replied  that  she  could,  the  title  to  all 
property  having  passed  to  her  by  virtue  of  her 
husband's  will,  of  which  she  was  the  sole  bene- 
ficiary. Thereupon  she  smiled,  and  said  that 
she  might  require  his  services  further  on. 

The  wedding  and  receptions  which  followed 
were  great  social  functions,  and  for  three  years 
thereafter  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  maintained  the 
two  young  people  in  the  veriest  profligate 
magnificence,  the  elder  woman  anticipating 
every  wish  of  the  younger,  and  heaping  upon 
her  the  costliest  gowns  and  jewels  to  be  had. 

During  this  time,  Carpenter  and  Lomax 
watched  Dalton  closely,  but  they  could  detect 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  119 

no  change  in  the  man,  except  perhaps  that  he 
was  even  more  rigid  and  exacting  in  his  pro- 
fessional transactions. 

Thus  matters  continued  without  event  until 
the  night  set  apart  for  the  first  autumn  re- 
ception of  Mrs.  LeConte  Dean.  These  were 
annual  events  of  great  revelry,  and  largely  at- 
tended. The  night  was  unpropitious,  raw,  and 
foggy,  as  October  nights  usually  are  in  this 
region,  but  this  in  no  wise  interfered  with  the 
occasion ;  indeed,  it  was  long  remembered  as 
one  of  startling  magnificence. 

This  reception  Robert  Dalton  determined 
not  to  attend,  partly  because  he  avoided  as  far 
as  possible  every  gathering  at  which  he  might 
be  thrown  with  the  younger  Mrs.  Van  Bartan, 
but  principally  because  the  firm  had  an  import- 
ant case  in  the  Federal  Court  then  sitting,  and 
he  had  been  asked  to  prepare  an  elaborate  de- 
cree for  the  following  day. 

After  determining  to  remain  at  home,  Robert 
Dalton  went  into  his  library,  gathered  his  books 
of  reference  from  their  cases,  and  began  the 
preparation  of  his  legal  paper.  This  decree  he 
found  more  difficult  to  draft  than  he  had  an- 


1 20          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

ticipated,  and,  striving  to  adjust  its  intricate 
matters,  he  became  more  and  more  absorbed 
until  he  was  entirely  unconscious  of  his  sur- 
roundings and  of  the  time  that  had  elapsed. 

Finally  he  arose  in  order  to  refer  to  some  re- 
port that  was  not  within  reach  of  his  hand. 
As  he  turned  to  the  light  he  beheld  a  woman, 
wrapped  in  the  folds  of  a  long  party  cloak, 
standing  with  her  hand  on  the  door,  as  though 
she  had  just  entered.  Dalton  was  so  utterly 
astonished  that  he  literally  rubbed  his  eyes  to 
ascertain  if  he  were  not  the  victim  of  an  illu- 
sion. Whereupon  the  woman  threw  back  her 
cloak,  and  advanced  to  the  table,  when  he  per- 
ceived to  his  amazement  that  it  was  the  young- 
er Mrs.  Van  Bartan.  To  this  man  she  seemed 
a  daughter  of  the  very  gods  in  the  full  bloom 
of  womanhood.  The  rich  velvet  cloak  thrown 
back  from  her  bare  shoulders,  the  ball  dress 
clinging  like  puffy  webs  to  a  form  that  his 
brooding  mind  had  idolized;  her  eyes  illu- 
mined, and  her  splendid  hair  wound  in  loose 
coils  above  her  dainty  head. 

It  would  all  be  very  weary  to  set  out  in  de- 
tail what  occurred  on  this  October  night ;  how 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  121 

the  younger  woman  explained  that  she  had 
finally  divined  the  intention  of  the  elder  Mrs. 
Van  Bartan,  and  how  she  had  hoped  to  see 
Dalton  at  the  LeConte  Dean's,  and  not  find- 
ing him  had  slipped  away,  and,  availing  herself 
of  the  foggy  night,  had  been  driven  unattended 
to  his  house  in  order  to  implore  his  aid ;  how 
she  came  and  stood  beside  him,  and  pointed 
out  the  dread  results  sure  to  follow  the  elder 
Mrs.  Van  Bartan 's  unnatural  intentions, — re- 
sults disastrous  to  her  and  to  hers.  Gerald 
Van  Bartan  was  worthless,  she  knew  that ;  he 
had  never  been  taught  to  work;  he  was  now 
too  old  to  learn ;  it  would  mean  poverty,  grind- 
ing poverty,  and  shame  worse  than  all ;  and  her 
father,  aged  and  broken  in  health,  and  the 
others  of  them,  all  dependent  upon  her,  would 
be  thrown  out  to  huddle  in  beggary,  literally, 
beggary. 

How  Dalton  replied  that  there  was  nothing 
he  could  do ;  reminding  her  that  the  elder  Mrs. 
Van  Bartan  was  a  woman  of  iron  will,  of  stern 
resolve,  of  relentless  determination,  and  that 
neither  he  nor  any  other  living  man  could 
affect  her.  And  how  like  a  woman  she  an- 


122          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

swered  that  he,  Dalton,  would  be  sent  for  to 
make  the  will,  and  that  he  must  save  her  some 
way,  she  did  not  know  how, — he  would  know, 
he  was  shrewd,  he  was  a  great  lawyer,  he  could 
certainly  find  some  way;  this  she  knew,  and 
he  must  do  it. 

And  how  he  labored  to  show  her  that  there 
was  nothing  he  could  do — absolutely  nothing ; 
that  the  whole  thing  was  hopeless,  thoroughly, 
utterly  hopeless;  and  then  how  she  came  to 
him  and  put  her  bare  white  arms  around  him 
and  looked  up  into  his  face,  the  big  tears 
shining  in  her  glorious  eyes,  and  said  that  if 
this  were  true,  then  she  proposed  to  tell  him 
all  the  truth,  the  truth  that  she  loved  him, 
him  only  in  all  the  wide  world,  him  always 
from  her  very  childhood,  and  that  for  others 
she  had  made  this  sacrifice;  and  how  great, 
how  awful  a  sacrifice  it  had  been,  men  could 
not  understand.  How  he  coldly  loosed  her 
arms,  although  to  do  it  wrenched  his  very 
heart  loose  ;  although  he  would  have  given 
his  life  gladly  to  have  taken  her  in  his  em- 
brace if  only  for  a  moment,  and  told  her  how 
he  understood  and  how  he  loved  her  for  it, 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  123 

and  how  he  would  always  love  her  to  the 
very  end  of  all  things;  but,  instead,  how  he 
had  sternly  led  her  out  to  the  carriage  and 
forced  her  to  leave  him,  and  how  he  turned 
back  into  the  library  with  his  head  swimming 
and  his  heart  pounding  like  a  hammer,  and 
fought  the  whole  thing  out  through  the  long 
October  night,  until  the  dawn  crept  in  and  the 
birds  began  to  chirp  in  the  Virginia  creeper. 

Some  weeks  later,  as  was  anticipated,  the 
elder  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  summoned  Robert  Dai- 
ton  to  her  residence  in  order  to  prepare  her 
will.  Upon  his  arrival  he  found  Simon  Harri- 
son, President  of  the  First  National  Bank,  and 
David  Pickney,  a  steel  manufacturer,  both 
prominent  citizens  of  unquestioned  integrity; 
also  the  late  Milton  South,  a  most  estimable 
physician.  At  Mrs.  Van  Bartan's  request, 
Robert  Dalton  prepared  the  will  in  the  pres- 
ence of  these  three  persons.  When  he  had 
finished  he  handed  the  paper  to  the  testatrix, 
who  thereupon  read  it  aloud  in  the  presence  of 
all,  declared  it  entirely  correct,  and  affixed  her 
signature.  As  is  customary,  Dalton  requested 
the  three  gentlemen  to  converse  with  the  tes- 


124          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

tatrix  and  satisfy  themselves  that  she  was  in 
proper  mental  condition.  This  they  did  at 
some  length,  and  not  unskilfully,  all  being 
men  of  good  sense.  Afterward  Harrison  and 
Pickney  subscribed  their  names  as  witnesses 
in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  statute.  Mrs. 
Van  Bartan  then  placed  the  will  in  an  envelope, 
sealed  it  with  her  own  hand  in  the  presence  of 
all,  and  gave  it  to  Simon  Harrison  to  retain 
until  after  her  death. 

On  the  seventeenth  day  of  December  fol- 
lowing, Mrs.  Van  Bartan  died  suddenly,  and 
some  days  thereafter  the  will  was  opened  and 
read  at  her  late  residence  by  Simon  Harrison, 
executor.  Gerald  Van  Bartan  and  his  young 
wife  were  present,  as  was  also  Robert  Dalton, 
and  those  others  who  had  been  with  the  de- 
ceased when  the  will  was  drawn.  The  elder 
members  of  the  law  firm,  Carpenter  and  Lo- 
max,  were  likewise  present,  and,  at  the  request 
of  Harrison,  the  Episcopal  minister,  Rev.  Mr. 
Boreland,  and  his  counsel,  an  obscure  practi- 
tioner named  Gouch. 

The  will  was  short,  leaving  the  entire  estate, 
real  and  personal,  naming  it  specifically,  for 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  125 

some  religious  purpose  ;  and,  in  a  spirit  of 
grim  jest,  it  would  seem,  one  dollar  each  to 
her  "  beloved  children,"  Gerald  Van  Bartan 
and  Columbia  Van  Bartan,  his  wife. 

The  effect  of  this  will  upon  the  two  young 
people,  as  the  executor  slowly  read  its  provi- 
sions, would  require  a  dramatist  of  no  little 
stature  to  describe.  The  woman's  face  grew 
drawn  and  bloodless.  The  man's  knees  seemed 
to  give  way,  and  he  would  have  fallen  had  he 
not  been  helped  to  a  chair. 

Dalton,  men  did  not  notice,  for  he  was  a 
skilful  actor.  When  the  executor  had  finished, 
Mr.  Lomax  plucked  Carpenter  by  the  arm,  and 
inquired,  in  a  low  voice,  if  he  had  noticed  any 
defect  in  the  will.  Carpenter  replied  that  he 
had  not,  but  that  he  had  paid  little  attention 
to  its  form,  whereupon  Lomax  requested  him 
to  examine  it  closely.  The  elder  counsellor 
stepped  up  beside  Harrison  and  began  to  go 
carefully  over  the  instrument.  Presently  he 
stopped  in  amazement,  and  put  his  finger 
down  on  the  paper. 

'  This  will,"  he  said,  "  is  utterly  void." 

At   the   word,  the  blood  surged  back  into 


126          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

Columbia  Van  Bartan's  face.  She  took  two 
steps  toward  Robert  Dalton,  then  turned  and 
buried  her  face  in  the  folds  of  a  heavy  curtain. 
Dalton  was  cool  and  entirely  incredulous. 

"  I  think  you  are  very  much  mistaken,  Mr. 
Carpenter,"  he  said  quietly. 

"Mistaken?"  answered  the  counsellor. 
"  Why,  this  bequest  is  made  simply  to  '  St. 
Luke's  Episcopal  Church.'  That  organization 
is  neither  an  individual  nor  a  corporation;  it 
has  no  recognized  legal  existence.  And  this 
request  must  fail  for  want  of  a  devisee." 

At  this  point  Harrison,  who  was  a  slow  but 
very  careful  man,  interrupted  and  explained 
with  great  accuracy  that  the  will  was  in  every 
detail  exactly  as  the  testatrix  had  desired  it; 
that  even  the  language  used  was  her  language ; 
that  she  had  said  "  St.  Luke's  Episcopal 
Church,"  and  that  Mr.  Dalton  had  written  it 
in  the  instrument  precisely  as  Mrs.  Van  Bar- 
tan  had  said,  and  that  there  could  be  no  pos- 
sible error  either  by  accident  or  design. 

Carpenter  was  about  to  reply,  when  Lomax, 
noticing  his  excitement,  stepped  in  between 
Harrison  and  the  elder  attorney,  and  pointed 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  127 

out  at  great  length  that  this  was  all  no  doubt 
true,  but  that,  under  the  law,  an  indefinite  re- 
ligious organization,  could  not  take  a  bequest ; 
that  this  was  not  generally  known  to  those 
unfamiliar  with  legal  business,  but  that  Mr. 
Dalton  should  have  known  that,  in  order  to 
devise  property  to  a  religious  organization,  it 
must  be  given  to  a  board  of  trustees,  or  to 
a  certain  person  or  persons,  named  in  the 
will,  for  a  specific  and  accurately  determined 
purpose;  that  this,  Mr.  Dalton  should  have 
explained,  and  that  his  writing  down  the  exact 
words  of  Mrs.  Van  Bartan  had  defeated  her  in- 
tentions, and  rendered  this  bequest  void. 

"  But,  sir,"  put  in  the  attorney  Gouch,  pom- 
pously, "  the  testatrix's  intention  must  con- 
trol. I  see  no " 

"  Come,  come,  my  good  man,"  cried  Car- 
penter, angrily,  "  this  is  what  is  known  in 
Virginia  as  a  '  vague  and  indefinite  charity.' 
Such  bequests  have  been  held  void  for  almost 
a  century.  Why  Silas  Hart  attempted  to 
create  such  a  devise  as  early  as  1790,  and  John 
Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States, 
held  it  void  at  law.  Twenty  years  later, 


128         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

Joseph  Gallego  attempted  to  bequeath  a 
similar  charity  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
at  Richmond,  and  Henry  St.  George  Tucker, 
President  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Virginia, 
in  a  famous  opinion,  held  that  it  must  fail, 
and  from  that  time  until  the  present  the 
courts  of  this  country  have  been  passing  upon 
this  common  error  of  testators  and  their  in- 
competent advisers." 

Robert  Dalton  looked  up  anxiously.  "  In 
what  cases  ?  "  he  stammered. 

"  What  cases!"  almost  shouted  the  elder 
counsellor,  for  he  had  now  lost  his  temper 
completely.  ' '  What  cases,  you  bungler !  Ask 
the  veriest  pettyfogger;  ask  the  commonest 
justice  of  the  peace,  but  do  not  catechise  me." 
And  after  having  delivered  himself  of  this 
venom,  he  seized  his  hat  and  cane  and  stalked 
out  of  the  house.  He  was  greatly  enraged  to 
think  that  a  man  of  Dalton's  learning,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  firm  of  high  standing,  should  make 
such  a  stupendous  blunder. 

Later  in  the  day  Robert  Dalton  came  to  the 
office  and  requested  Carpenter  and  Lomax  to 
join  him  in  his  private  room.  His  face  showed 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  129 

plainly  the  evidences  of  a  great  mental  strain. 
When  they  were  together  he  closed  the  door, 
and,  turning  to  them,  said  that  he  had  ex- 
amined the  question  which  they  had  raised, 
in  regard  to  Mrs.  Van  Bartan's  will,  and  he 
was  now  satisfied  that  he  had  made  a  pro- 
digious error  in  drafting  the  instrument ;  that 
as  his  mistake  would  deprive  a  powerful  church 
of  a  vast  estate,  endless  criticism  of  a  most 
acrimonious  character  would  follow;  that  it 
was  not  just  for  any  part  of  this  criticism  to 
fall  upon  the  shoulders  of  either  Carpenter  or 
Lomax,  and,  therefore,  he  had  determined  to 
publicly  withdraw  from  the  firm.  To  this 
they  made  scarcely  a  courteous  objection,  and 
Dalton  accordingly  withdrew,  publishing  an 
announcement  thereof  in  the  daily  papers. 

The  report  of  a  great  error  in  Mrs.  Van  Bar- 
tan's  will  spread  through  the  city  with  the 
marvellous  rapidity  of  an  evil  rumor.  The 
vials  of  bitter  criticism  were  poured  out  upon 
the  head  of  Robert  Dalton.  Men  declared  that 
they  had  long  suspected  that  he  was  a  sham, 
a  posing  ignoramus,  a  dangerous  blunderer. 

The  executor,  Harrison,  as  was  his  duty,  at- 

9 


1 30         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

tempted  to  execute  the  charitable  bequest,  but, 
of  course,  failed.  Whereupon  the  press  of  the 
city  stood  up  in  the  market-place  like  the  self- 
complacent  Pharisee  and  declared  that  in  this 
day  mistakes  were  crimes;  that  it  was  not 
enough  for  an  attorney  to  do  the  best  he 
knew, — it  was  his  duty  to  know;  it  was  not 
enough  for  an  attorney  to  be  honest,  he  must 
be  likewise  competent  ;  that  the  law  was  a 
learned  profession  in  which  the  bungler  was 
equally  as  dangerous  as  the  knave;  that  vast 
estates  were  conveyed  by  will,  and  how  easily 
by  mistake  or  design  a  lawyer  could  destroy 
the  testator's  most  sacred  wish ;  he  could  rob 
the  helpless  of  his  right,  the  dependent  of  his 
inheritance,  or  the  charitable  institution  of  its 
patron's  aid,  and  all  this  without  color  of 
criminal  wrong.  The  law,  it  asserted,  pun- 
ished with  relentless  hand  the  man  who  blun- 
dered in  positions  of  trust;  it  punished  with 
awful  penalties  the  man  who  blundered  in  the 
heat  of  passion,  but  it  had  no  censure,  no  sting, 
no  scourge  for  the  man  who  blundered  at  the 
bedside  of  the  dying. 

Thus  was  Robert  Dalton's  fame  as  a  lawyer 
damned  into  the  veriest  blackness. 


Ill 

ON  a  certain  bleak  Thursday  of  January, 
Randolph  Mason  sat  in  his  office,  ab- 
sorbed in  the  study  of  a  great  map  which  was 
spread  out  on  his  table.  The  day  was  so  dark 
and  lowering  that  the  electric  light  above  the 
table  had  been  turned  on.  Presently  the  door 
opened  and  the  little  clerk  Parks  looked  in. 
He  watched  the  lawyer  for  a  few  moments  in- 
tently ;  then  he  withdrew  his  head.  A  few 
minutes  later,  the  door  again  opened  and  a 
woman  entered,  and  closed  it  behind  her.  She 
stopped  and  looked  at  the  counsellor,  bending 
over  his  map.  The  picture  was  not  a  pleasant 
one.  The  man's  streaked,  gray  hair  was 
rumpled,  and  his  heavy-muscled  face  under 
the  glare  of  the  light  was  rather  more  brutal 
than  otherwise.  Then  she  crossed  to  the  table 
and  threw  a  newspaper  down  on  the  map. 
131 


132          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Will  you  kindly  read  that  marked  para- 
graph ? ' '  she  said. 

Randolph  Mason  looked  up.  For  a  moment 
he  did  not  recall  the  woman,  her  face  was  so 
very  white.  Then  he  recognized  his  client, 
Mrs.  Van  Bartan. 

"  You  will  pardon  me,  madam,"  he  said,  "  I 
am  deeply  engaged.  Kindly  come  here  to- 
morrow." 

"  I  have  to  regret,"  said  the  woman,  "  that 
I  ever  came  here  at  all.  Will  you  please  read 
that  paragraph?"  And  she  put  her  finger 
down  on  the  newspaper. 

The  counsellor  looked  at  the  paper. 

"  We  notice  by  to-day's  Herald,"  it  ran, 
"  that  Robert  Dalton,  Esq.,  has  sailed  for 
Japan,  where  it  is  said  he  will  become  a  legal 
instructor  in  one  of  the  national  universities. 
Mr.  Dalton,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  the  at- 
torney whose  stupid  blunder  invalidated  the 
Van  Bartan  will,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he 
will  prove  more  efficient  in  the  service  of  the 
Mikado.  The  bar  of  the  Virginias  cannot  be 
said  to  regret  Mr.  Dalton 's  departure.  He 
was  grossly  incompetent,  and  just  such  men 
bring  the  legal  profession  into  disrepute." 


Mrs.  Van  Bar  tan.  133 

"  What  of  all  this  ?  "  said  Mason.  "  You 
obtained  what  you  desired.  Why  do  you 
harass  me  with  this  nonsense  ?  " 

"  I  obtained  it,"  repeated  the  woman,  bit- 
terly. '  Yes,  thanks  to  your  devilish  ingenu- 
ity, I  obtained  it,  but  at  what  a  cost !  I  have 
the  money,  but  it  is  daubed  over  with  the 
blood  of  a  man's  heart  It  has  the  price  of  a 
man's  honor  stamped  on  the  face  of  every 
coin.  I  hate  it  all.  Everything  I  see,  every 
thread  that  touches  me,  taunts  me  with  the 
shame  of  such  a  sacrifice." 

The  woman's  voice  was  firm,  but  her  figure 
trembled  like  a  tense  wire. 

"  Madam,"  said  Randolph  Mason,  "  you 
annoy  me.  I  have  no  interest  in  this  drivel." 
'No  interest  in  it?"  cried  the  woman. 
'  You,  you  have  no  interest  in  it  ?  Was  it 
not  you  who  did  it  ?  You  and  the  devil  him- 
self ?  You  concocted  this  plan.  You  said  go 
to  him,  and  tell  him,  and  he  would  know  what 
to  do.  Your  fiendish  ingenuity  saw  what 
would  result,  but  you  did  not  tell  me.  You 
did  not  tell  me  that  this  man  would  be  com- 
pelled to  rip  his  life  in  two  like  a  cloth  to  save 
me,  and  that  he  would  do  it.  If  I  had  known 


134         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

this,  do  you  suppose  that  I  would  have  gone 
on  for  a  moment  ?  Do  you  suppose  that  I 
wanted  wealth,  or  ease,  or  luxury,  at  the  cost 
of  a  man's  hope  and  fame  and  honor  ?  I  tell 
you,  you  miserable  blunderer,  this  thing  cost 
too  much." 

"  Chatter,"  said  Mason,  rising. 

"  Chatter!  "  cried  the  woman,  beating  her 
hands  on  the  table.  "  Do  you  call  this  chat- 
ter ?  I  charge  you, — do  you  hear  me,  I  charge 
you  with  the  ruin  of  this  man's  life." 

"  Madam,"  said  Randolph  Mason,  "  the 
vice  of  your  error  lies  in  the  fact  that  you 
should  have  consulted  a  priest.  I  am  not  con- 
cerned with  the  nonsense  of  emotion. ' ' 

Then  he  turned  abruptly  and  walked  out  of 
the  room. 


ONCE  IN  JEOPARDY 

(See  Amer.  and  Eng.  Enc.  of  Law,  vol.  ii.,  page  926,  and 
the  cases  there  discussed  ;  see  also  State  vs.  Richardson,  S.C. 
35  Lawyers'  Reports  Annotated,  238,  and  cases  there  cited ; 
also  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Art.  5,  and  the  Consti- 
tution of  West  Virginia,  Art.  3,  Sec.  5.) 


X3S 


ONCE  IN  JEOPARDY 


THE  sheriff  stopped  on  the  steps  of  the 
court-house,  pushed  his  straw  hat  back 
from  his  forehead,  moved  his  eyeglasses  up  a 
little  closer  to  his  fat  face,  and  began  to  con- 
template the  limits  of  his  official  jurisdiction, 
with  the  air  of  one  about  to  deduce  a  law. 

The  little  county  seat  on  Tug  River  slept  in 
a  pocket.  Behind  it  and  on  every  side  except 
the  river  were  great  mountains,  half-hidden  by 
a  gigantic  cloak  of  fog.  On  the  opposite  side, 
from  the  great  coal  plants  of  the  Norfolk  and 
Western  Railroad  a  counter-canopy  of  smoke 
arose,  dense  and  voluminous,  and  stretched 
itself  like  a  black  hand  out  over  the  town  and 
across  to  the  fog  of  the  mountain.  Man,  it 
137 


138          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

seemed,  had  conspired  with  nature  to  cover  up 
and  hide  the  town  of  Welch. 

"  Strange,"  drawled  the  sheriff,  "  strange, 
that  a  white  man  should  be  willing  to  leave  a 
paradise  like  this,  and  with  river  water  in  his 
stomach  too."  Then  he  chuckled  comfort- 
ably. 

The  sheriff  of  the  county  of  McDowell  was 
all  right.  He  represented  the  entire  machin- 
ery of  the  law  obtaining  south  of  Tug  River, 
and  he  carried  the  momentous  responsibility 
with  the  languid  grace  of  a  bank  clerk  at  a 
charity  german. 

The  sheriff  was  a  Virginian.  But,  marvel  of 
marvels,  he  was  a  Virginian  without  a  title. 
He  was  plain  W.  M.  Carter.  The  statement  is 
not  quite  accurate.  Among  the  boys  he  was 
"  White  "  Carter.  But  he  was  no  "  colonel  " 
and  no  "  major,"  and  he  gloried  in  the  distinc- 
tion and  guarded  it  well.  The  sheriff  was  a 
comfortably  fat  man  and  most  genial.  His 
eyes  were  round,  blue,  and  dreamy,  and  he 
never  hurried.  He  was  never  abrupt  or  a  jar- 
ring element.  He  slipped  easily  into  any 
position  and  filled  it  up  without  a  ripple,  as 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  139 

water  slips  in  and  fills  up  the  outlines  of  a 
vessel. 

Still  the  sheriff  was  all  right.  When  he 
looked  out  of  his  dreamy  blue  eyes  through 
his  rimless  nose  glasses  at  a  negro  miner  who 
had  used  his  razor  as  an  adjunct  to  an  argu- 
ment, and  mildly  requested  the  negro  to  ac- 
company him  to  the  confines  of  the  county 
jail,  it  was  as  certain  as  the  advent  of  death 
that  the  negro  would  obey,  and  obey  without 
comment.  And  when  the  sheriff  mounted  his 
"  murky  dun  "  horse  and  passed  up  into  the 
mountains  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  a  moon- 
shiner to  come  down  to  civilization  and  submit 
his  rights  to  the  decision  of  a  judicial  tribunal, 
it  was  a  matter  of  familiar  history  that  the 
moonshiner  always  came. 

To  the  inquiring  stranger,  no  man  seemed  a 
native  of  McDowell. 

This  impression  arose  from  the  fact  that  the 
stranger  adhered  to  the  railroad  and  the  coal 
towns  which  sprang  up  in  its  wake,  and  in  these 
every  man  came  from  somewhere.  The  rail- 
road had  brought  in  the  coal  companies,  and 
the  coal  companies  had  brought  in  the  negroes, 


140         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

and  thus  towns  sprang  into  existence,  and  the 
usual  rough,  expeditious  methods  of  civiliza- 
tion began.  Then  came  the  politician  and  the 
adventurer,  and  mixed  in  merrily,  and  from  that 
time  forth  the  county  of  McDowell  was  indus- 
trial and  Republican,  and  everything  "  went." 
But  a  few  years  back,  before  the  section 
hands  on  the  Norfolk  and  Western  Railroad 
cut  through  from  the  county  of  Mercer,  there 
was  a  population  in  McDowell  that  was  not 
Republican,  and  that  did  not  "  go."  They 
were  long-limbed,  indolent,  and  "  handy 
men  "  in  a  fight.  They  made  corn  whiskey 
when  they  pleased,  and  voted  the  Democratic 
ticket  when  they  saw  fit,  and  accounted  to  no 
one.  The  revenue  officer  came,  and  looked 
up  at  the  great  mountains  covered  with  the 
giant  oaks  of  a  century,  concluded  that  the 
laws  were  not  being  violated,  and  so  reported 
to  the  Government.  It  was  vastly  more  com- 
fortable than  going  up  into  these  same  moun- 
tains not  to  come  down  at  all,  or  maybe  to 
come  down  with  a  squirrel  bullet  under  the 
ribs.  In  his  day  and  generation  the  revenue 
officer  was  a  wise  man. 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  141 

Here  the  citizen  was  born  as  it  happened, 
lived  as  he  could,  and  died  as  the  necessity 
arose,  and  the  outside  world  neither  knew  nor 
cared  nor  concerned  itself  with  it.  These  were 
not  bad  people.  Morally  they  were  as  good  as. 
the  sun  warmed.  Their  life  bred  no  shams. 
If  they  loved  each  other,  they  lived  together 
and  were  happy,  and  if  they  hated  each  other, 
they  fought  it  out  The  feud  has  been  usually 
overdrawn.  It  existed  in  truth,  but  it  rarely 
resulted  in  anything  more  than  a  "  fist  fight  " 
at  a  grist  mill,  but  when  it  grew  serious,  it 
grew  very  serious  indeed.  The  mountaineer 
always  shot  to  kill.  He  was  no  man  of  half 
measures ;  it  was  a  free,  open,  breezy  war,  and 
perhaps  it  was  as  healthy  fighting  as  any.  At 
his  worst,  the  native  moonshiner  was  a  better 
man  than  the  imported  miner  at  his  best. 
Up  in  the  fog  of  the  mountains  men  were 
killed ;  down  in  the  smoke  of  the  coke  ovens 
they  were  murdered  ;  and  between  the  two 
words  there  is  a  distinction  as  big  as  the  honor 
of  a  people. 

The  "killer"  was  common  in  McDowell, 
but  the  suicide  was  not,  perhaps  because  men 


142          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

rarely  take  their  own  lives  in  the  mountains. 
It  is  a  trick  of  jaded  civilization  obtaining  in 
congested  cities,  unknown  and  unpractised  by 
the  dwellers  among  the  hills.  Men  died  in  the 
mountains,  but  by  the  hand  of  others. 

So  the  sheriff  was  puzzled.  That  morning 
the  body  of  Brown  Hirst,  manager  of  the  Octa- 
gon Coal  Company,  had  been  picked  up  in  the 
muddy  waters  of  Tug  River,  just  below  the 
bridge.  Above,  on  the  railing  of  the  bridge, 
his  coat  and  vest  had  been  found,  folded  and 
apparently  laid  carefully  over  a  girder.  The 
bridge  was  very  high  above  the  rocky  stream, 
and  the  body  of  the  man  was  badly  crushed — 
almost  beyond  recognition.  The  man  had  evi- 
dently jumped  from  the  bridge  with  the  delib- 
erate intention  of  taking  his  own  life.  All  this 
the  sheriff  had  heard  as  he  rode  into  the  town. 
But  rumors  are  lurid,  the  sheriff  knew,  and  he 
concluded  to  go  at  once  to  the  prosecuting 
attorney.  He  wanted  the  tale  straight  from 
some  one  who  could  pry  the  facts  free  from  the 
fiction.  On  the  steps  of  the  court-house  the 
sheriff  had  paused  for  a  moment  and  made 
some  observations  to  himself.  But  a  crowd 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  143 

was  beginning  to  gather  in  the  street  below, 
and  the  sheriff,  being  fully  aware  that  this  por- 
tended a  demand  for  his  opinion  and  not  being 
pleased  to  express  one,  he  turned  abruptly  and 
passed  into  the  court-house. 

The  man  of  order  walked  leisurely  down  the 
hall  to  the  office  of  the  prosecuting  attorney 
and  entered.  A  thin,  red-haired  girl  was 
pounding  a  typewriter  with  the  energy  of  a 
two  -  horse  -  power  engine.  Conventionalities 
were  abbreviated  in  McDowell.  The  sheriff 
sauntered  in. 

"  Where  's  Jeb  ?  "  he  drawled. 

The  red-haired  girl  paused  for  a  moment 
and  jerked  her  thumb  over  her  shoulder. 
"  In  there,"  she  said,  "  busy."  Then  she 
went  on. 

Miss  McFadden  was  an  economist  ;  she 
wasted  no  words.  The  sheriff  threw  open  the 
door,  and  walked  into  the  private  office.  The 
prosecuting  attorney  turned  around  from  the 
window. 

"  Hello,  White!"  he  said,  "you  are  the 
very  man  I  want." 

"  Which    indicates,"    drawled    the    sheriff, 


144         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  that  you  are  a  young  person  of  great  dis- 
cernment. ' ' 

"  When  one  needs  horse  sense,"  said  the 
prosecuting  attorney,  "  your  acquaintance  is 
valuable.  At  other  times  it  is  a  luxury." 

"  Together,"  observed  the  sheriff,  mildly, 
"  we  create  a  sort  of  equo-asinus  intellectual 
atmosphere,  I  suppose." 

The  attorney  took  up  a  chair  and  placed  it 
by  the  window. 

"  Sit  there,"  he  said,  "  and  listen."  Then 
he  closed  the  door,  and,  crossing  the  room, 
began  to  open  the  safe  by  his  desk. 

The  sheriff  sat  down  meekly  and  turned  his 
dreamy  blue  eyes  on  the  young  lawyer. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county  of 
McDowell  was  an  imported  article.  Like  the 
ancient  wise  men,  he  came  from  the  East,  but 
the  manner  of  his  coming  was  not  quite  that 
of  the  early  sages.  The  sheriff  had  come  up 
from  the  hills  of  Virginia,  while  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  had  come  up  from  the  sea.  Not 
that  this  young  scion  of  the  law  was  a  sailor  or 
the  son  of  a  sailor,  but  on  a  certain  summer 
afternoon  at  a  certain  fashionable  resort,  Fate 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  145 

suddenly  threw  away  the  toys  with  which  she 
had  been  amusing  him,  and  he  immediately 
realized  that  the  world  was  a  common  tread- 
mill instead  of  a  breezy  French  drag. 

It  was  a  stiff  shock,  but  the  spine  of  young 
Mr.  Huron  was  good,  and  instead  of  stepping 
off  the  pier,  at  ten  o'clock  of  that  same  night 
he  was  demonstrating  to  a  certain  wealthy 
senator  who  had  large  coal  interests  in  West 
Virginia  that  it  would  be  the  part  of  no  incon- 
siderable wisdom  to  send  a  bright  young  fel- 
low with  a  legal  education  down  into  this  great 
mining  region  for  the  purpose  of  investigating 
the  land  titles,  and  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
an  eye  on  the  industries  generally,  and,  as  it  is 
said  in  the  law,  "  for  other  purposes." 

The  old  senator  was  by  no  means  blind  to 
the  very  slight  efficiency  of  raw  material,  but 
he  had  a  heart  hidden  away  under  his  coat, 
and  at  thirty  minutes  past  eleven  he  was  con- 
vinced. So  J.  E.  B.  Huron  came  into  the 
county  of  McDowell,  nailed  up  his  shingle, 
and  stepped  down  into  the  melte. 

The  opening  chapters  of  his  legal  career 
were  blue-tinted  histories,  but  the  material  in 


146         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

the  backbone  of  young  Mr.  Huron  was  splendid 
material,  and  he  remained.  The  perception  of 
this  man  of  the  law  was  no  dwarfish  growth, 
and  he  used  it  like  the  wise.  McDowell  was 
Republican  by  1600,  and  "  White  "  Carter  was 
big  boss;  post  hoc  ergo  propter  hoc.  J.  E.  B. 
Huron  was  a  Republican  of  ancient  affiliation, 
and  more  specifically  he  was  right-hand  man 
to  White  Carter.  This  wisdom  was  not  with- 
out its  reward.  The  convention  that  nomi- 
nated Carter  for  sheriff,  nominated  Huron 
for  prosecuting  attorney,  and  the  big  boss 
pulled  his  man  through  in  spite  of  splits,  and 
splits,  and  independent  tickets.  The  prosecut- 
ing attorney  was  a  handsome  young  fellow 
with  a  good  level  head.  He  knew  the  value 
of  the  sheriff,  and  he  held  to  him. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  took  some  papers 
from  the  safe,  drew  up  a  chair,  and  sat  down 
by  the  sheriff. 

"You  have  heard  of  Hirst's  suicide?"  he  said. 

The  sheriff  nodded.  "  All  but  the  ante- 
mortem  note, ' '  he  drawled. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  smiled.  "  How 
did  you  know  there  was  a  note  ?  " 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  147 

"  Jeb,"  said  the  sheriff,  "  it  is  a  part  of  the 
etiquette  of  suicide.  No  man  effects  his  exit 
without  a  parting  word.  It  would  be  bad 
form,  Jeb,  frightfully  bad  form." 

"  So  you  guessed  it  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  the  sheriff,  wearily,  "  my 
gray  matter  was  allowed  me  for  the  purpose  of 
utility.  I  concluded." 

The  prosecuting  attorney  selected  a  letter 
from  the  package  of  papers  and  passed  it  over 
to  the  sheriff.  That  official  examined  the  en- 
velope carefully,  then  he  slowly  opened  it  and 
spread  the  enclosed  letter  out  on  the  desk 
before  him. 

"  Octagon  Coal  Company,"  he  read  slowly, 
"  Miners  and  Shippers  of  Coal  and  Coke, 
Welch,  West  Virginia.  Robert  Gilmore,  Pres- 
ident. Brown  Hirst,  Business  Manager.  All 
agreements  are  contingent  upon  strikes,  acci- 
dents, and  other  delays  unavoidable  or  beyond 
our  control." 

The  sheriff  paused  for  a  moment.  '  Writ- 
ten at  the  office,"  he  observed,  "  with  a  pen, 
on  the  company's  stationery." 

The   guardian   of   order   removed   his   eye- 


148         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

glasses,  wiped  them  carefully,  replaced  them 
on  his  nose,  and  continued : 

"  The  officers  of  the  law  are  informed  that 
I,  Brown  Hirst,  have  taken  my  own  life,  de- 
liberately and  at  a  time  when  I  am  in  the  full 
possession  of  my  faculties.  My  reasons  for 
so  doing  are  of  no  importance  to  the  law, 
and  are  accordingly  withheld.  This  statement 
is  made  merely  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
any  inference  of  murder,  and  for  no  other  pur- 
pose.— Brown  Hirst." 

The  sheriff  replaced  the  letter  in  its  envelope. 

"  That,"  he  said,  "  is  a  sensible  communica- 
tion. By  the  very  highest  flame  on  the  altar 
of  folly,  it  is  an  exceedingly  sensible  com- 
munication. Where  did  you  find  it  ?  " 

"  The  coat  and  vest,"  replied  the  lawyer, 
"  were  found  lying  carefully  folded  over  the 
railing  of  the  bridge.  This  letter  was  in  the 
breast  pocket  of  the  coat.  Hirst  evidently 
went  about  his  death  with  great  deliberation. 
Still,  I  see  no  motive  for  suicide." 

"  Jeb,"  drawled  the  sheriff,  "  you  are '  long ' 
on  motives.  Everything  must  have  a  motive 
stamped  in  red  ink  on  its  face.  Can't  you 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  149 

allow  an  obscure  citizen  to  change  his  perma- 
nent residence  and  retain  his  reasons  ?  The 
gentleman  has  said  in  his  communication  that 
his  reasons  are  of  no  moment  to  the  law. 
Can't  you  take  the  gentleman's  word  for  it  ? 
It  is  n't  courteous,  Jeb.  By  the  way,  where  is 
the  corpse  of  the  decedent  ?  " 

"  Within  the  sacred  jurisdiction  of  the 
coroner." 

"  And  the  medical  fraternity  ? "  inquired 
the  sheriff. 

"  Doctor  Hart  is  over  in  Jacktown  putting 
the  finishing  touches,  it  is  said,  on  old  Pap 
Dolan,  so  the  coroner  called  in  a  miracle  doctor 
from  Cincinnati." 

The  sheriff  chuckled.  "  Miracle  doctor," 
he  drawled,  "  is  good — is  very  good." 

The  prosecuting  attorney  assumed  the  air  of 
an  instructor. 

'  Healers,"  he  began,  "  may  be  set  down, 
for  the  purposes  of  a  proper  classification, 
under  three  great  heads  or  grand  divisions, 
namely,  '  yarb  doctors,'  '  old-line  practition- 
ers,' and  '  miracle  doctors.'  Under  the  first 
class  may  be  grouped  those  persons  who  seek 


150          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

to  effect  cures  by  means  of  the  virtues  of  shrub- 
bery, as  well  as  that  vast  army  of  rural  healers 
known  along  the  watershed  of  the  Alleghanies 
as  '  bleeders  '  and  '  steamers. '  Under  the 
second  great  division  are  included  those  grave 
professional  persons  supposed  to  be  learned  in 
the  mysteries  of  the  human  economy,  who,  for 
a  fixed  consideration,  guess  at  the  ill,  and 
thrust  in  a  chemical ;  while  the  third  and  final 
division  is  composed  of  those  mysterious  heal- 
ers who  affect  to  thwart  dissolution  by  means 
of  marvellous  knowledge  or  marvellous  skill 
peculiar  to  themselves. 

"  The  species  of  the  first  grand  division  in- 
fest all  that  great  tract  of  country  bounded 
by  a  timber  line.  The  second  great  class  ob- 
tains in  the  cities  and  villages,  and  affect 
buggies,  drugs,  and  sombre  dress.  The  third 
class  is  a  by-product  of  congested  civilization, 
and  begins  usually  with  a  patent  lotion,  and 
ends  usually  with  a  hospital." 

White  Carter  waved  his  fat  hand.  "  But,  if 
your  honor,  please,"  he  interrupted,  "  what 
did  the  miracle  doctor  say  ?  " 

"  He  said,"  replied  the  prosecuting  attor- 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  1 5 1 

ney,  "  that  Brown  Hirst  was  a  compound 
fracture  from  the  sustentaculum  tali  to  the 
tripod  of  Haller;  and  from  the  tripod  of  Hal- 
ler  to  the  corpus  callossum,  he  was  a  simple 
fracture." 

"  Horrible,"  drawled  the  sheriff. 

"  And  he  said  further,"  continued  the  man 
of  the  law,  "  that  the  suiciding  decedent  was 
probably  afflicted  with  some  species  of  psychi- 
cal neurosis. 

"  Domine  miserere  !  "  murmured  the  guard- 
ian of  order. 

"  So  the  travelling  ^Esculapius  testified,  and 
as  the  coroner  was  quite  unable  to  spell  the 
craft  terms,  he  simply  wrote  down  in  the 
record  that  Doctor  Leon  Dupey  of  Cincinnati, 
after  a  careful  examination,  had  pronounced 
Brown  Hirst  dead,  which  was  far  less  prolix 
and  entirely  true." 

'  That  coroner,"  observed  White  Carter, 
"  should  be  United  States  Senator  from  Kan- 
sas." 

Huron  took  up  the  note  and  put  it  with  the 
other  papers. 

"  I  judge  this  to  be  a  plain  case  of  suicide," 


152          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

he  said.  "  I  have  carefully  compared  the 
writing  with  these  letters.  It  is  certainly 
Brown  Hirst's  writing.  Still,  men  do  not  act 
without  a  motive,  and  I  see  no  justifiable 
motive." 

"  Well,"  said  the  sheriff,  "  I  happen  to  know 
that  financially  the  Octagon  Coal  Company  is 
somewhat  '  groggy.'  How  will  that  answer 
for  a  motive  ad  interim  ?  Or,  as  the  sensible 
would  say,  in  the  meantime  ?  " 

'  Good,"  said  the  prosecuting  attorney. 
Then  he  took  a  pencil  from  his  pocket,  and 
wrote  on  the  back  of  the  decedent's  letter: 
"  Suicide.  Motive — business  depression,"  and 
replaced  the  papers  in  the  safe. 

The  sheriff  arose.  '  The  legend  you  have 
subscribed  is  probably  correct,"  he  drawled, 
"  but  the  ways  of  Providence  are  varied  and 
mystic,  and  I  think  I  shall  make  some  observa- 
tions in  my  own  right. ' '  Then  he  went  out. 


II 


'  IT  is  quite  plain,"  said  Randolph  Mason, 
I  "  that  you  have  fallen  into  the  usual 
blunder  of  the  common  rogue.  If  you  had 
wished  to  rob  the  insurance  companies,  you 
could  easily  have  accomplished  your  end  with- 
out perpetrating  this  crime,  and  thus  assume 
the  hazard  of  discovery  and  criminal  prosecu- 
tion." 

Robert  Gilmore  looked  sharply  at  the  coun- 
sellor. 

"  You  mean  that  I  am  seeking  advice  late  ?  " 
"  Precisely,"  said  Mason.     "  It  is  the  char- 
acteristic error  of  the  witless." 

'  Well,"  observed  the  coal  operator,  "  in 
desperate  positions  one  usually  relies  on  one's- 
self;  confederates  are  dangerous,  and  usually 
expert  advice  is  difficult  to  obtain."  Then  he 
laughed.  '  I  could  not  advertise  for  sealed 


154          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

bids  on  how  the  thing  should  be  done.  I  did 
the  best  possible  under  the  circumstances,  and 
I  rather  thought  that  I  had  made  a  clean  job 
of  it." 

"  That  delusion,"  muttered  Mason,  "  is 
common  with  the  amateur.  Indeed,  it  is  the 
mark  of  him.  This  killing  was  useless.  You 
could  have  gotten  on  as  well  without  it." 

The  keen,  gray  eyes  of  Robert  Gilmore 
twinkled.  "  I  should  be  interested  to  know 
how  ?  "  he  said. 

"  At  this  late  hour,"  answered  Randolph 
Mason,  "  my  advice  upon  that  point  can  be  of 
no  importance.  Suggestions  after  the  fact  are 
of  little  interest  and  of  no  value.  You  have 
now  to  consider  some  method  by  which  you 
may  place  yourself  permanently  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  law.  This  is  no  problem  of  slight 
moment,  and,  in  order  to  meet  it  properly,  I 
must  know  the  details  of  this  blundering  busi- 
ness. ' ' 

The  coal  operator's  face  grew  grave  and 
thoughtful.  "  I  presume,"  he  began,  "  that 
the  priest  and  the  attorney  are  accustomed  to 
require  details  and  accurate  confessions.  I  am 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  155 

president  of  the  Octagon  Coal  Company,  as  I 
have  said,  and  reside  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, where  I  have  been  engaged  in  active 
business  for  several  years.  My  life  beyond 
that  time  cannot  be  a  matter  of  any  special 
importance.  I  may  add,  however,  that  I  had 
been  engaged  with  a  foreign  company  as  a  fire 
insurance  adjuster  for  the  State  of  Illinois  for 
some  years  before  coming  to  the  East.  It  was 
while  acting  as  an  adjuster  of  losses  that  I  first 
met  with  Brown  Hirst. 

"  An  unusually  large  fire  occurred  in  one  of 
the  suburban  towns  near  Chicago,  destroying 
almost  an  entire  block,  and  I  was  sent  out  by 
my  company  to  adjust  the  loss.  Upon  my 
arrival  in  the  town  I  found  what  I  believed  to 
be  evidence  of  a  gigantic  fraud.  The  block 
had  been  leased  for  a  year  by  one  John  Hall 
for  the  purpose  of  doing  a  mammoth  general 
business  with  a  great  number  of  different  de- 
partments, and  almost  before  Hall  had  opened 
his  doors  to  the  public  this  fire  occurred. 
There  was  no  explanation  of  how  the  fire 
originated.  When  first  noticed  by  the  police, 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  build- 


156         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

ing  was  blazing  fiercely  in  a  dozen  places,  and 
under  such  headway  as  to  be  impossible  to 
control.  The  local  fire  department  was  unable 
to  prevent  the  loss  of  the  building,  but  fortu- 
nately a  heavy  rainstorm  set  in  and  prevented 
a  total  loss  of  the  stock. 

"  In  conversation  with  Hall,  I  discovered 
that  not  one  domestic  company  had  a  dollar 
on  the  building  or  its  stock,  but  that  the  entire 
insurance  was  carried  in  my  company  and  a 
number  of  London  companies  usually  asso- 
ciated with  it,  and  for  whom  I  acted  as  general 
adjuster.  This  was  of  itself  a  suspicious  cir- 
cumstance, since  the  insured  would  not  be 
subject  to  the  inquisition  of  numberless  repre- 
sentatives of  convenient  local  companies,  and 
in  a  legal  fight  would  have  the  prejudice 
against  a  remote  company  in  his  favor,  and, 
further,  he  would  have  but  one  man  to  deal 
with. 

"  I  observed  immediately  that  Hall  was  a 
person  of  much  shrewdness.  He  talked  little, 
but  what  he  had  to  say  was  exceedingly  free 
from  any  suggestion  of  concealment  or  obscur- 
ity. When  I  came  to  examine  the  unburned 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  157 

stock,  my  suspicions  were  confirmed.  It  was 
composed  entirely  of  bulky  merchandise,  evi- 
dently selected  with  a  view  to  a  fire. 

"  The  manner  of  its  arrangement  in  the 
building  was  exceedingly  suspicious.  The 
boxes  had  been  piled  up  before  the  windows 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  the  firemen 
from  entering  the  building  even  after  the  iron 
bars  had  been  cut,  and  the  arrangement  was 
such  that  when  the  fire  should  gain  headway 
and  the  windows  be  opened,  the  position  of 
the  boxes  would  act  as  a  sort  of  flue  and  there- 
by greatly  assist  the  fire.  It  was  all  exceed- 
ingly well  planned,  and  if  the  building  had 
been  entirely  consumed,  detection  would  have 
been  impossible.  Nothing  could  have  pre- 
vented this  but  the  unforeseen  storm,  and  had 
it  not  occurred  just  when  it  did,  Hall's  scheme 
would  have  proved  a  masterpiece  of  its  kind. 

"  I  gave  the  public  no  intimation  of  my  con- 
clusions concerning  the  incendiary  nature  of 
the  fire,  but  when  the  investigation  was  con- 
cluded, I  took  Hall  to  the  hotel,  and  told  him 
frankly  that  my  company  would  not  pay  the 
loss,  as  it  was  quite  evident  that  it  was  all  a 


158         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

shrewdly  arranged  scheme  to  defraud.  I 
pointed  out  the  suspicious  circumstances,  and 
the  irresistible  conclusion  that  flowed  from 
them,  and  said  plainly  that  Hall  would  do  well 
to  escape  criminal  prosecution. 

"  To  my  utter  astonishment,  the  man  ex- 
pressed no  surprise  whatever.  When  I  had 
finished,  he  asked  me  a  few  searching  questions 
intended  to  determine  the  thoroughness  of  my 
investigation,  and  when  he  was  satisfied  upon 
that  point,  he  drew  his  chair  up  near  to  the 
table  at  which  I  was  seated,  and  quietly  pro- 
posed to  divide  the  insurance  if  I  would  join 
with  him  and  make  the  proper  sort  of  report 
to  my  company. 

"  In  handling  this  proposition,  Hall  was  mar- 
vellously skilful.  He  assumed  to  treat  the 
matter  purely  as  a  business  arrangement.  He 
said  that  the  loss,  although  big  to  us,  was  a 
very  small  matter  to  the  wealthy  companies 
which  I  represented,  and  would  not  be  felt  by 
them,  and  would  cause  no  man  any  appreciable 
hurt ;  that  he  had  gone  to  infinite  pains  and  no 
little  expense  to  perfect  his  plan,  and  nothing 
but  the  unfortunate  storm  could  have  pre- 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  159 

vented  its  complete  success ;  that  he  had  never 
intended  to  divide  with  any  one,  but  accident 
against  which  he  could  not  guard  had  placed 
me  in  a  position  to  secure  a  portion  of  the 
very  considerable  sum  which  he  had  gone  to 
so  much  trouble  and  expense  to  obtain,  and, 
appreciating  this  new  necessity,  he  was  quite 
willing  to  allow  me  an  equal  division  of  the 
gain.  At  no  time  during  his  entire  conversa- 
tion was  there  any  suggestion  of  danger  or  any 
allusion  to  any  risk,  criminal  or  otherwise. 

"It  is  unnecessary,  I  judge,  to  weary  you 
with  further  details.  Under  the  remarkable 
handling  of  this  man,  the  element  of  substan- 
tial wrong  seemed  to  disappear  from  the 
transaction,  and  the  result  was  that  I  finally 
consented  to  join  with  him.  He  claimed  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  I  reported  to  the 
company  a  complete  loss,  but  advised  a  settle- 
ment at  not  more  than  one  half  of  the  sum 
claimed.  This  finally  led  to  an  adjustment 
at  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  without  the  least  suspicion  of  a  com- 
munity of  interests  between  us. 

"  It  would  not  be  quite  true  to  assume  that 


160          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

I  easily  fell  in  with  Hall's  plan,  although  in 
point  of  time  it  would  seem  so.  Financially, 
I  was  in  a  bad  way ;  from  childhood  I  had  been 
poor ;  always  poor.  In  money  matters,  things 
invariably  went  wrong.  Every  hazard  I  had 
taken,  every  speculation  in  which  I  had  en- 
tered, had  always  lost,  no  matter  how  substan- 
tial it  seemed.  At  this  time  I  was  rather 
desperate,  I  presume.  At  any  rate,  I  joined 
with  the  scheme,  and  it  succeeded  without  a 
jar. 

"  Thus  I  came  to  know  Brown  Hirst  under 
his  alias.  We  divided  the  money  and  de- 
posited it  with  a  trust  company  in  Philadelphia 
until  such  time  as  we  might  safely  join  in  some 
one  of  the  numerous  ventures  which  Brown 
Hirst  was  continually  planning.  But  he  was 
no  dreamer,  this  Hirst.  He  knew  fully  the 
great  virtue  of  deliberation,  and  insisted  that  I 
remain  with  the  insurance  company  for  at  least 
a  year,  and  then  secure  employment  with 
another  company  on  some  reasonable  pretext, 
and  then  by  some  error  be  discharged  from 
this  company,  and  if  possible  join  with 
another,  until  finally  I  should  drift  out  of  the 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  161 

business  without  being  subject  to  speculative 
comment. 

"  These  suggestions  of  Hirst  I  followed  to 
the  letter,  and  they  resulted  as  he  anticipated. 
I  had  now  great  confidence  in  the  ability  of 
this  remarkable  man.  The  details  of  his  plans 
were  as  accurate  as  the  pieces  of  a  machine, 
and  they  seemed  never  capable  of  failure." 

The  coal  operator  paused  and  rested  his 
hands  on  the  arms  of  his  chair. 

"  Even  now,"  he  said,  "  I  consider  Brown 
Hirst  to  have  been  the  ablest  man  I  ever  saw." 

Randolph  Mason  was  silent.  His  face  indi- 
cated rather  more  of  weariness  than  of  interest. 
Perhaps  the  story  in  its  substance  was  very  old 
to  him. 

"  On  the  first  day  of  September,  1893,  I 
joined  Brown  Hirst  in  Philadelphia,  and  here 
he  unfolded  a  number  of  gigantic  plans,  among 
others  one  for  defrauding  life  insurance  com- 
panies, which  we  finally  decided  to  attempt. 
I  do  not  now  recall  that  I  felt  any  real  repug- 
nance to  the  moral  obliquity  of  these  ventures. 
The  mastermind  of  Hirst  seemed  to  sweep  out 
any  moral  consideration,  by  simply  ignoring  it 


1 62          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

utterly.  When  Hirst  planned,  it  was  all  busi- 
ness, and,  according  to  the  ethics  of  business, 
quite  as  right  as  any.  Indeed,  the  man  was  so 
phenomenally  successful  where  I  had  always 
failed,  that  I  never  once  dreamed  of  objecting 
to  any  plan  which  he  deemed  wise. 

"  As  I  have  said,  Brown  Hirst  was  as  prac- 
tical as  a  blue  print.  He  used  to  assert  that 
of  all  vices  haste  was  the  most  abominable, 
and  that  before  seeking  to  effect  our  venture 
it  would  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  engage  in 
some  legitimate  business  for  a  few  years  in 
order  to  establish  a  reputation  as  a  substantial 
business  firm.  Then  our  plans  would  be  rid  of 
the  suggestion  of  adventurers.  Besides,  it 
would  give  us  financial  rating  and  substantial 
standing  in  the  community  in  which  we  should 
begin  our  fraudulent  operations,  and,  as  well, 
in  the  meantime,  we  could  prepare  our  mo- 
tives, which,  Hirst  asserted,  should  always  be 
furnished  ready-made  to  the  public  when  in- 
vestigation began. 

We  accordingly  determined  to  purchase  and 
operate  a  coal  plant  in  West  Virginia.  This 
business  was  suited  to  our  purpose  rather  better 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  163 

than  any  other,  because  men  were  continually 
coming  and  going  in  this  business.  Unknown 
companies  were  formed  in  remote  cities  and 
operated  merely  with  an  agent.  The  firm  was 
rarely  investigated  to  any  very  great  degree, 
if  it  promptly  met  its  obligations,  and  there 
being  little  opportunity  for  fraud,  a  good  busi- 
ness standing  could  be  easily  secured  by  any 
manager  who  was  reasonably  expeditious  in  His 
transactions. 

"  We  secured  a  charter  for  the  Octagon 
Coal  Company,  purchased  a  plant  on  the  Nor- 
folk and  Western  Railroad  in  the  county  of 
McDowell,  and  began  to  operate  with  Brown 
Hirst  as  manager  and  myself  president  of  the 
presumed  Philadelphia  company. 

'  Hirst  was,  as  I  have  said,  a  man  of  fine 
business  sense,  and  very  shortly  began  to 
make  money.  We  enlarged  the  plant,  and 
soon  came  to  be  considered  a  firm  of  import- 
ance. When  it  grew  apparent  that  we  could 
succeed  at  a  legitimate  business,  I  began  to 
urge  Hirst  to  abandon  his  dangerous  venture 
entirely,  and  devote  his  splendid  abilities  to 
the  development  of  the  coal  industry ;  but  he 


1 64          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

only  laughed,  and  bade  me  remember  that  all 
this  required  work,  and  it  was  not  his  intention 
to  spend  his  life  at  work. ' ' 

"  Sir,"  said  Randolph  Mason,  interrupting, 
"  you  are  overlooking  the  important  matter  in 
your  disclosure.  What  was  this  insurance 
scheme  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  the  coal  operator,  "  I  was 
coming  to  that.  It  was  our  plan  to  secure 
heavy  insurance  on  the  life  of  Hirst,  making 
his  wife  the  beneficiary,  and  later  have  him 
disappear  under  circumstances  indicating  sui- 
cide." 

"  That  plan,"  said  Mason,  drawing  down 
the  heavy  muscles  of  his  mouth,  "  is  ancient, 
and  infantile,  and  trite;  worthy  of  blunderers 
— children  and  blunderers." 

Gilmore  looked  at  the  lawyer  for  a  moment 
critically,  then  he  continued.  "  I  presume  the 
scheme  is  not  new,  but  I  rather  think  Hirst's 
plan  for  carrying  it  into  effect  was  somewhat 
novel  and  unusually  practical.  At  the  time 
Hirst  proposed  this  scheme  he  was  unmarried, 
and,  as  a  cold  business  proposition,  he  said 
that  I  should  select  some  woman — any  woman 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  165 

agreeable  to  me,  whom  I  should  like  as  a  wife, 
then  he  would  marry  her,  insure  his  life  for  her 
benefit,  make  his  exit,  and  afterwards  I  should 
marry  the  woman  and  send  half  of  the  insur- 
ance money  to  him  in  Spain  or  Italy,  where  he 
had  determined  to  take  up  his  permanent 
residence. 

"  He  urged  that  it  would  be  best  to  keep  the 
woman  totally  ignorant  of  our  plan,  so  that  if 
anything  should  go  wrong,  she  could  not  be 
implicated  in  a  conspiracy,  and,  therefore, 
could  not  be  prevented  from  obtaining  the 
insurance  as,  she  being  the  sole  beneficiary  and 
no  fraud  on  her  part  being  possible,  any  sus- 
pected or  even  assured  fraud  on  my  part  would 
not  void  the  policy  payable  to  her,  provided 
he,  Hirst,  could  not  be  found  within  seven 
years. 

"  Hence,  two  considerations  were  necessary 
in  selecting  the  woman.  First,  she  must  be  so 
situated  as  to  reduce  suspicion  of  her  to  the 
minimum.  And,  second,  she  must  be  one 
whom  I  could  marry  as  Hirst's  widow  and 
thereby  obtain  the  money.  This  part  of  the 
plan  was  allotted  to  me  to  complete.  You 


1 66          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

will  now  see  with  what  a  remarkable  man  I  was 
associated,  and  how  little  regard  he  entertained 
for  the  customs  of  human  society. 

In  leaguing  myself  with  this  man's  fortune 
I  blundered  fatally.  My  nature  was  entirely 
different.  I  could  not  shut  out  the  natural 
emotions.  I  could  not  crowd  out  the  human 
in  me.  I  was  no  calculating  machine  like  this 
man  Hirst,  and  in  carrying  out  my  portion  of 
the  venture  I  made  a  frightful  mistake. 

"  I  am  not  now  going  into  the  details  of  that 
mistake.  It  will  be  sufficient  for  the  purposes 
of  this  interview  to  say  that  the  woman  whom 
Hirst  finally  married  was  a  good  woman,  the 
daughter  of  a  venerable  churchman  residing  in 
one  of  the  suburban  towns  of  Philadelphia, — 
such  a  good  woman  that  no  sooner  had  the 
ceremony  taken  place  than  I  began  to  regret 
having  associated  her  with  such  a  cold-blooded 
villain  as  Brown  Hirst,  and  as  the  days  ran  by, 
that  regret  grew  into  a  very  passion  of  re- 
morse." 

The  man  paused  for  a  moment,  raised  his 
elbows  up  on  the  arms  of  his  chair  and  locked 
his  fingers. 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  167 

"  I  guess  it  was  a  sort  of  Providential  judg- 
ment," he  continued,  "  if  such  things  are  sup- 
posed to  be  in  this  practical  time.  I  avoided 
the  woman  as  far  as  possible,  and  strove  to 
conceal  my  terrible  regret,  but  it  was  quite 
useless.  Hirst  knew  almost  before  I  realized 
the  feeling  myself,  and  harshly  bade  me  re- 
member that  this  was  business,  and  no  mat- 
ter of  maudlin  sentiment.  He  had  no  feeling 
whatever  for  the  woman,  and  if  I  could  wait 
for  a  little  time  the  plan  would  very  shortly 
give  her  to  me.  He  warned  me  against  what 
he  was  pleased  to  call  '  nonsense,'  and  I  must 
admit  that  the  powerful  personality  of  this 
man  forced  me  into  a  sort  of  stolid  subjection 
to  his  will.  But  the  feeling  for  the  woman 
remained,  and  I  hated  Hirst." 

Randolph  Mason  put  out  his  hand  as  though 
to  interrupt  the  speaker,  but,  appearing  to  re- 
consider, suddenly  withdrew  it  and  nodded  to 
the  coal  operator  to  continue.  The  young 
man  took  no  notice  of  the  interruption. 

"  Hirst,"  he  went  on,  "  like  the  master 
spirit  that  he  was,  proceeded  to  put  the  details 
of  his  plan  into  operation.  From  time  to  time 


1 68          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

he  applied  to  the  best  companies  in  the 
country  for  insurance,  and  as  he  was  con- 
sidered a  good  risk,  a  man  of  fine  physique, 
and  in  charge  of  a  substantial  business,  he  pres- 
ently secured  about  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  on  his  life.  These  policies  he  carried 
for  two  years  in  order  to  avoid  the  suicide 
clause,  and  in  order  to  render  them  as  nearly 
incontestable  as  possible. 

"  Finally,  every  arrangement  having  been 
completed,  the  time  drew  near  when  Brown 
Hirst  determined  to  make  the  final  movement 
in  his  scheme.  But  during  these  two  years 
my  hate  of  this  man  had  not  been  idle.  I 
don't  know  just  what  possessed  me.  I  had  no 
good  reason  to  hate  him.  It  was  all,  as  he 
said,  a  business  matter,  —  details  in  a  pure 
business  matter.  But  I  did  hate  him,  and, 
unconsciously,  one  does  not  know  just  how,  I 
determined  to  take  a  part  in  his  plan.  I  deter- 
mined to  make  the  play  real.  This  determin- 
ation was  no  sudden  resolve ;  it  seemed  rather 
to  evolve  slowly  until  it  finally  became  a  fixed 
purpose.  The  motive  for  the  supposed  sui- 
cide, Hirst  had  by  no  means  overlooked.  It 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  1 69 

was  to  be  impending  financial  ruin,  and  during 
the  past  year  immediately  preceding  his  death 
Brown  Hirst  drew  great  sums  from  the  busi- 
ness, and  finally  mortgaged  and  remortgaged 
the  entire  coal  plant  and  applied  the  money  to 
the  payment  of  his  heavy  insurance,  so  that  at 
the  time  of  his  disappearance  the  business 
would  be  in  a  state  of  financial  collapse,  and 
the  motive  for  his  rash  deed  would  be  adequate 
and  thoroughly  apparent. 

"  During  all  this  time,  Hirst  operated  in 
McDowell  near  the  county  seat  of  Welch,  his 
wife  remaining  for  the  most  part  with  her 
father,  while  I  maintained  a  city  office  in 
Philadelphia.  On  the  day  set  apart  for  the 
disappearance  of  Brown  Hirst,  there  was  a 
stockholders'  meeting  of  our  company  at  its 
principal  office  in  West  Virginia.  It  was  a 
sham,  but  it  was  rumored  that  the  purpose  of 
this  meeting  was  to  discuss  some  measure  that 
would  relieve  our  business  from  impending 
ruin.  This  was  the  purpose  made  public. 
The  real  purpose  was  to  account  for  my  pres- 
ence in  McDowell.  It  was  a  part  of  Hirst's 
plan  that  I  should  remain  behind  after  his  dis- 


1 70          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

appearance  in  order  to  see  that  everything  was 
properly  arranged,  and  then  take  a  night  train 
for  the  East. 

"  The  preliminary  details  of  that  night's 
work  were  splendidly  managed.  We  met 
together  at  the  office  of  the  company.  Here 
Hirst  wrote  a  letter  explaining  that  he  was 
about  to  take  his  own  life,  and  placed  it  in  the 
pocket  of  his  coat. 

"  Then  he  took  a  bundle  of  men's  clothing, 
in  which  he  intended  to  make  his  escape  from 
the  country.  This  bundle  consisted  of  a  grimy 
coat  such  as  the  ordinary  miner  wears,  in  the 
pockets  of  which  he  had  placed  a  package  of 
bank  notes,  a  pocket-book  containing  a  New 
York  draft  and  a  memorandum  of  his  insur- 
ance policies. 

"  The  trousers,  shoes,  and  other  articles  of 
this  disguise  Hirst  wore  when  he  left  the  office, 
it  being  his  intention  to  leave  his  usual  coat 
and  vest  on  the  bridge  over  Tug  River,  as  evi- 
dence of  the  suicide,  and  then,  assuming  the 
remainder  of  his  disguise,  slip  out  to  Cincinnati 
on  the  night  freight. 

"  From  the  office  we  went  directly  to  the 


Once  in  J  eopardy.  171 

bridge  over  Tug  River,  for  the  reason,  as 
Brown  Hirst  always  maintained,  that  in  order 
to  leave  perfect  circumstantial  evidence  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  actually  do  as  far  as 
possible  the  things  which  one  desired  the 
public  to  believe  one  had  done. 

"  It  was  perhaps  two  o'clock,  and  very  dark 
and  wet.  It  had  been  raining  for  almost  a 
week.  This  was  largely  in  our  favor,  since  the 
river  at  flood  is  deep  and  rapid,  and  a  body 
lost  in  it  when  the  water  was  running  high 
would  not  probably  be  recovered  at  all,  as  we 
had  noticed  was  the  case  with  lumbermen  not 
infrequently  drowned ;  hence  we  had  selected 
the  time  of  heaviest  rains  in  this  region  in 
order  that  the  loss  of  the  body  should  not 
seem  a  matter  of  unusual  moment. 

"  It  might  be  as  well  to  explain  that  when 
Tug  River  is  swollen  by  rains  its  channel  be- 
neath the  bridge  is  very  deep  and  rapid  nearest 
its  east  shore,  while  near  the  west  shore  its  bed 
is  higher  and  covered  with  immense  bowlders ; 
thus  anything  thrown  into  this  river  on  its  east 
side  would  probably  be  carried  away  and  lost, 
while  if  dropped  from  the  bridge  on  the  west 


172          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

side  it  would  probably  lodge  among  the  bowl- 
ders, and  remain  after  the  high  water  had 
subsided. 

"  As  I  have  said,  it  was  very  dark,  and  the 
roar  of  the  waters  was  something  frightful,  but 
we  were  quite  familiar  with  the  bridge,  and, 
becoming  accustomed  to  the  darkness,  pres- 
ently came  to  see  sufficiently  for  our  purposes. 

"  Hirst  went  directly  to  the  span  of  the 
bridge  nearest  the  east  shore,  and,  removing  his 
coat  and  vest,  placed  them  across  one  of  the 
girders.  Then  he  began  to  undo  the  bundle 
in  order  to  put  on  the  miner's  clothing  which 
he  had  brought  with  him. 

'  This  was  my  opportunity,  and  I  suggested 
that  we  first  walk  to  the  other  side  in  order  to 
make  sure  that  the  bridge  was  entirely  clear. 
He  immediately  put  down  the  bundle  and 
came  up  to  me.  I  do  not  now  know  whether 
there  was  in  his  mind  any  trace  of  suspicion, 
but  I  do  know  that  at  this  suggestion  the  man 
seized  my  arm  and  tried  to  look  into  my  face, 
and  I  am  certain  that  had  it  been  light  he  would 
have  discovered  the  treachery  which  I  was 
contemplating  ^ut  it  was  dark,  and  the  man 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  1 73 

said  nothing  except  to  curse  the  night.  He 
was  exceedingly  profane,  this  Hirst,  and  as  we 
walked  the  length  of  the  bridge,  he  holding 
my  arm  and  damning  the  night  in  half  whis- 
pers, I  somehow  felt  that  this  man  appreciated 
in  a  vague  way  the  doom  that  was  impending. 
But  I  presume  that  this  was  simply  an  impres- 
sion arising  from  the  intense  strain  under  which 
I  was  laboring. 

"  As  we  were  about  to  return,  I  pointed  to 
the  white  surf,  breaking  on  the  bowlders  below. 
The  man,  still  holding  my  arm,  stopped, 
leaned  over  the  low  railing,  and  peered  down 
into  the  water.  This  was  the  position  into 
which  I  had  hoped  to  trap  him,  and,  wrenching 
my  arm  loose  suddenly,  I  struck  him  heavily 
between  the  shoulders.  The  man  plunged  for- 
ward over  the  railing,  clutching  wildly  at  the 
air,  but  he  uttered  no  cry,  and  his  body 
whirled  downward  into  the  blackness  below. 

"  I  clung  to  the  railing  and  strove  to  see 
where  the  body  would  strike,  but  it  was  folly. 
The  bridge  was  high  above  the  rough  stream, 
and  I  heard  only  the  dull  splash  that  told  of 
his  death." 


1 74          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

The  eyes  of  the  coal  operator  seemed  to 
stretch  at  the  corners,  and  a  dull  gray  spread 
over  his  face. 

"  I  should  like  to  be  rid  of  that  scene,"  he 
continued  after  a  moment.  "  It  is  frightfully 
vivid.  Every  detail  of  it  seems  to  have  been 
photographed  on  my  brain,  and  it  runs  before 
me  like  the  pictures  in  a  vitascope.  Men  some- 
times forget  such  things,  it  is  said,  but,  in 
the  name  of  Heaven,  how  ?  Why,  I  can  see 
him  any  moment  in  the  dark.  I  can  see  his 
strained  white  face  mad  with  horror,  I  can  see 
his  clutching  hands,  I  can  feel  in  my  own 
throat  just  how  the  terror  of  death  choked  in 
his,  and  I  know,  I  know " 

Randolph  Mason  struck  his  clenched  fist 
heavily  on  the  table.  "  Sir,"  he  said  sharply, 
"  you  will  kindly  omit  this  drivel.  Give  me 
the  facts  just  as  they  occurred.  You  may  re- 
serve your  melodrama  for  the  purposes  of  a 
copyright. ' ' 

Gilmore  started  and  threw  up  his  head  as 
though  some  one  had  suddenly  dashed  ice- 
water  in  his  face.  He  put  his  hand  up  to  his 
forehead  and  pressed  his  fingers  hard  against 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  175 

the  skin ;  then  he  straightened  in  his  chair  and 
seemed  to  gain  his  self-control. 

"  Well,"  he  went  on,  "  I  went  back  to  the 
east  side  of  the  bridge,  threw  the  bundle  over 
into  the  river,  slipped  through  to  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  on  one  of  the  night  freights, 
and  by  noon  of  the  same  day  I  was  in  Phila- 
delphia. 

'  That  afternoon  the  city  office  was  advised 
of  Brown  Hirst's  suicide.  We  immediately 
wired  the  prosecuting  attorney  for  details,  and 
were  informed  that  he  had  jumped  from  the 
bridge,  leaving  a  note  in  his  pocket  which  ex- 
plained that  he  had  taken  his  own  life.  The 
body  was  shipped  to  Philadelphia,  as  his  wife 
directed.  Almost  immediately  I  began  to 
close  the  affairs  of  the  Octagon  Coal  Company, 
and  very  shortly  after  the  funeral  I  called  upon 
Mrs.  Hirst  in  order  to  take  the  preliminary 
steps  looking  toward  the  collection  of  her 
husband's  insurance. 

Here  my  plan  struck  and  went  to  pieces 
like  a  vapor.  The  wife  of  Brown  Hirst  was  a 
good  woman,  and  I  had  failed  to  foresee  what 
she  would  do  under  circumstances  of  this 


1 76          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

nature.  To  my  utter  astonishment,  she  in- 
formed me  that  the  representatives  of  the 
Insurance  companies  had  been  to  see  her  and 
had  asked  time  in  which  to  investigate  the 
case,  and  that  she  had  gladly  concurred  in 
their  request.  And  then,  like  a  woman,  she 
declared  that  there  was  no  reason  why  her 
husband  should  commit  suicide,  and  that  she 
did  not  believe  he  had  done  so,  but  that,  if  he 
had  deliberately  taken  his  own  life,  she  would 
not  touch  one  dollar  of  the  insurance  money ; 
that  she  would  have  nothing  bought  with  life. 
If  it  could  be  shown  that  her  husband  was 
murdered,  as  she  believed,  then  she  saw  no 
reason  why  she  should  not  claim  the  insur- 
ance ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  proved  true 
that  he  had  planned  to  defraud  the  life  insur- 
ance company  for  her  benefit,  and,  pursuant  to 
that  awful  plan,  had  hurled  himself  into  eter- 
nity, then  she  would  starve  in  an  almshouse 
before  she  would  touch  a  penny  of  the  money. 
"  This  statement  struck  me  with  the  cruslu 
ing  power  of  an  axe  stroke.  The  world  seemed 
to  pass  out  from  under  me.  I  saw  every  hope 
of  the  future  vanish.  I  realized  in  a  flash,  as 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  1 77 

one  is  said  to  do  at  the  grave's  edge,  in  what 
a  prodigious  error  I  had  been  engaged." 

There  must  have  been  some  suggestion  of 
annoyance  on  the  counsellor's  face,  for  the 
coal  operator  stopped  short  and  moved  un- 
easily in  his  chair. 

"  I  was  about  to  forget  your  instructions," 
he  explained,  with  a  shade  of  apology  in  his 
voice;  "  it  is  rather  hard  to  crowd  one's  emo- 
tions out  of  a  desperate,  personal  narrative  like 
this,  although,  of  course,  it  is  all  nonsense  to 
rant  about  it. 

"  To  be  brief,  I  was  totally  unable  to  shake 
this  woman's  purpose,  and  I  returned  to  the 
city  knowing  that  a  tireless  investigation  was 
about  to  begin.  I  have  not  waited  to  see  the 
result  of  this  investigation.  I  know  that  the 
insurance  companies  and  this  unusual  woman 
will  leave  no  stone  unturned  in  order  to  dis- 
cover just  how  Hirst  came  to  his  death,  and  I 
am  not  fool  enough  to  think  that  they  will 
eventually  fail.  I  don't  believe  any  of  the 
bosh  about  murder  crying  from  the  ground, 
but  I  am  entirely  convinced  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  cover  a  crime  so  that  human  in- 


1 78         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

genuity  cannot  trail  down  the  man  who  com- 
mitted it. 

"  I  judge  that  I  was  not  intended  for  busi- 
ness of  this  sort.  I  cannot  fight  out  in  good 
order.  With  me  a  retreat  is  a  rout.  I  have 
abandoned  everything.  I  have  thrown  away 
every  plan.  I  am  trying  now  to  save  myself 
from  the  hangman,  or  at  least  the  penitentiary. 
I  have  not  waited  to  be  caught ;  I  have  come 
to  you  at  once. ' ' 

The  man  seemed  to  relax  and  settle  back  in 
his  chair. 

"  Now,"  he  added,  with  the  utter  depend- 
ence of  a  patient  stretched  upon  the  table  of 
the  surgeon,  "  you  must  save  me." 

The  eyes  of  Randolph  Mason  flattened  as 
though  they  were  being  pressed  down  from 
above,  and  the  lines  of  his  face  deepened  and 
widened  into  rugged  furrows. 

"  There  are  two  methods  of  evading  the 
law,"  he  said.  "  The  escape  ipsojure  planned 
before  the  fact ;  and  the  escape  ipso  jure  after 
the  fact.  The  first  is  a  matter  of  no  great  diffi- 
culty, and  may  easily  be  prepared  by  any  man 
reasonably  conversant  with  the  law  of  the  place 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  1 79 

of  his  intended  act,  and  if  skilfully  arranged 
need  contain  no  element  of  hazard  whatever. 
The  latter  is  far  more  difficult,  and  must  be 
handled  with  some  care  in  order  to  reduce  the 
element  of  peril  to  its  minimum.  In  the  first, 
one  constructs  the  facts  to  suit  the  defects  in 
the  law,  and  if  executed  with  any  degree  of 
intelligence,  the  criminal  actor  has  nothing 
whatever  to  fear,  and  the  law  is  as  harmless  as 
a  painted  devil. 

"  In  the  latter,  the  expert  must  take  the 
facts  as  circumstance  and  the  blundering  crim- 
inal agent  have  made  them,  and  strive  to  adapt 
these  prepared  facts  to  the  law  as  it  stands, 
which  is  a  far  more  difficult  proceeding,  and 
not  infrequently  attended  with  disastrous  re- 
sults. Hence  the  skill  of  certain  criminal 
lawyers,  and  the  long  technical  legal  battles 
with  which  the  books  are  crowded. 

"  As  for  you,  sir,  the  scheme  in  which  you 
have  been  an  actor  was  abominably  planned, 
and  more  abominably  executed.  The  most 
drivelling  intelligence  should  have  seen  peril 
staring  out  from  every  infantile  move  made  by 
you  and  this  stupendous  blunderer  Hirst.  You 


1 80          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

have  taken  an  old,  time-worn  plan,  teeming 
with  dangers,  and,  not  content  with  its  fright- 
ful hazards,  you  and  this  witless  Hirst  have 
added  one  complicated  peril  after  another  until 
you  have  finally  constructed  a  masterpiece  of 
idiocy  that  in  its  complex  nonsense  approaches 
the  sublime. 

"  I  wonder,  sir,  that  you  have  not  gone  to 
the  authorities  and  requested  an  execution. 
It  would  be  a  fitting  sequel  to  your  atrocious 
errors. ' ' 

The  face  of  the  counsellor  was  ugly  with  a 
sneer. 

"  Your  seeking  counsel  at  once  stands  out 
as  your  one  intelligent  act.  It  is  marvellous 
discretion,  judged  by  your  narrative ;  marvel- 
lous and  unexpected.  Let  us  hope  that  your 
period  of  mental  aberration  is  past." 

Then  he  arose  and  stood  looking  down  at 
the  man  who,  like  many  another,  had  striven 
to  throw  the  machinery  of  human  justice  out 
of  its  proper  gear,  and  had  simply  succeeded 
in  tangling  himself  in  its  complicated  wheels. 

"  In  order  to  save  you  now,"  said  Randolph 
Mason,  "  we  must  move  quickly.  These  great 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  181 

insurance  companies  have  the  ablest  detective 
service  of  the  world.  With  such  a  bungle  as 
you  have  made,  it  is  merely  a  question  of  a 
few  weeks  until  they  will  succeed  in  fastening 
this  murder  upon  you,  not  directly  perhaps, 
but  sufficiently  to  warrant  your  arrest,  and  then 
you  must  take  your  hazards  with  a  jury.  The 
man  who  to-day  hopes  to  cover  his  crime  well 
enough  to  baffle  the  keen  and  tireless  search  of 
a  great  life  insurance  company  must  be  gov- 
erned by  something  vastly  nearer  to  an  in- 
telligence than  that  upon  which  you  and  the 
decedent  Hirst  depended. 

"  At  this  stage  of  your  blunder  there  are  but 
two  ways  by  which  it  is  possible  to  put  you 
absolutely  beyond  the  reach  of  the  law.  Death 
is  one  way,  and  we  will  pass  that.  The  other 
I  am  now  going  to  bring  to  your  aid.  With  it 
the  greatest  care  and  haste  are  vital.  At  nine 
to-night  you  must  be  here  prepared  to  put 
yourself  wholly  in  my  hands.  I  shall  have 
every  arrangement  complete  by  that  time." 

Mason  stopped  short,  and  put  his  hand  down 
heavily  upon  the  table. 

"  Now,  sir,"  he  said,  bluntly,  "  it  will  be 


1 82         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

entirely  useless  for  me  to  attempt  the  drastic 
measures  necessary  in  your  case  unless  you  are 
prepared  to  act  under  my  ringers  like  a  ma- 
chine. Can  you  do  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  man,  wiping  the  perspira- 
tion from  his  face. 

"  Then,"  said  Randolph  Mason,  opening 
the  door  of  his  private  office,  "  go  down  to 
your  hotel  and  sleep;  and  if  you  please,  sir, 
do  not  think,  or,  to  be  more  accurate,  do  not 
attempt  to  think.  Your  thoughts,  as  has  been 
demonstrated,  are  of  no  value  to  you,  and  I 
assure  you,  sir,  they  will  be  quite  useless  to 
me." 

Then  he  closed  the  door  after  the  departing 
criminal  and  went  back  to  his  desk. 


Ill 


TH  E  sheriff  was  riding  slowly  down  the  nar- 
row mountain  road  to  the  ford  over  Tug 
River, — "  Jim's  Ford  "  the  natives  of  McDow- 
ell had  dubbed  this  crossing  far  back  when  the 
dry  ginseng  root  was  a  legal  tender  for  all 
debts  public  and  private  southwest,  as  the  crow 
flies,  from  the  county  of  Mercer.  Whence  the 
name  had  come,  and  by  reason  of  what,  tradi- 
tion was  silent.  No  doubt  the  original  Jim 
had  dwelt  in  this  rugged  gorge,  and  by  acci- 
dental hap  had  given  his  name  to  this  rocky 
ford  that  lived  on  and  proclaimed  him  long 
after  the  man  had  passed  out  into  the  hands  of 
the  Wind. 

To  the  negro  miner,  seven  miles  up  at  the 

town  of  Welch,  this  rugged  crossing,  studded 

with  great  bowlders,  was  respectfully  referred 

to    as    "  Hell's    Gap," — respectfully,    for    no 

183 


184          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

other  reason  than  that  the  negroes  were  super- 
stitious, and  the  mammoth  gorge,  silent  as  the 
grave  floor,  and  deep  and  foggy  except  in  the 
long  summer  afternoons,  was  calculated  to 
conjure  every  grim  phantom  set  down  in  the 
African  catalogue. 

The  sheriff  pulled  up  his  "  dun  "  horse  sud- 
denly, and  threw  his  leg  over  the  pommel  of 
his  saddle.  Just  below  him  in  the  ford  of  the 
river  was  a  man  wading  out  into  the  water, — a 
tall  mountaineer,  bare-headed,  his  dress  indi- 
cating a  rather  equal  compromise  between  the 
barbarity  of  the  village  and  the  barbarity  of 
the  mountain.  For  upper  garment  he  wore 
the  red-fringed  hunting  shirt  of  his  fathers  and 
his  grandfathers  and  on;  and  for  nether  gar- 
ment, the  blue  overalls  purchased  at  the  coun- 
try store  for  a  haunch  of  venison  or  a  bundle 
of  hides.  The  mountaineer  was  tall,  rugged, 
and  powerful, — a  proper  inhabitant  for  such  a 
place. 

"  Spitler  Hamrick,"  murmured  the  sheriff. 
' '  By  every  limping  god !  The  toughest  pine 
knot  in  the  mountains  of  McDowell.  I  won- 
der what  the  old  wolf  is  looking  for." 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  185 

Then  he  tightened  his  knee  on  the  pommel 
of  the  saddle  and  a  slow  smile  crept  over  the 
features  of  the  sheriff.  "  By  my  troth!  "  he 
drawled,  "it  is  certain  that  Spitler  is  no  Vere 
de  Vere.  Still,  if  blue  blood  ran  to  back,  and 
bunches  of  muscles  on  the  shoulders,  Spitler's 
claim  to  princely  lineage  would  be  unques- 
tioned." 

White  Carter  stopped  short,  and  ad- 
justed his  eye-glasses.  The  mountaineer  had 
gathered  up  a  bundle  from  the  river  and  was 
turning  to  wade  ashore.  The  man  did  not  at 
once  see  the  sheriff ;  he  was  looking  down  into 
the  water  in  order  to  avoid  slipping  on  the 
smooth  stones.  When  he  stepped  on  to  the 
rocky  bank  of  the  river,  the  sheriff  called.  At 
the  sound,  the  mountaineer  dropped  the  bun- 
dle and  jerked  up  a  Winchester  that  lay  nearby 
against  a  bowlder.  It  was  an  act  after  the 
custom  of  the  mountains.  One  armed  him- 
self first,  and  observed  the  "  lay  of  the  land  " 
afterwards. 

White  Carter  remained  perfectly  motion- 
less. ' '  I  would  n't  shoot,  Spitler, ' '  he  drawled, 
"  it  's  vulgar." 


1 86          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

The  mountaineer  dropped  the  butt  of  his 
rifle  on  the  stones,  and  looked  up  in  astonish- 
ment. "  Smoky  hell!  "  ejaculated  the  moun- 
taineer, "it  air  the  sheriff.  Smoky  hell!" 
The  refrain  was  a  nervous  idiom  with  Spilter 
Hamrick. 

White  Carter  put  his  hand  into  the 
pocket  of  his  coat,  took  out  a  pipe,  knocked 
the  ashes  from  the  bowl  and  began  to  fill  it 
with  great  deliberation.  This  act,  remaining 
after  the  red  man  had  passed,  proclaimed  a 
status  of  dignified  truce. 

The  play  of  action  faded  from  Hamrick's 
face,  leaving  it  stolid,  heavy,  prodigiously 
indifferent.  It  was  the  mountain's  stamp  on 
its  minion,  the  silence,  and  the  abominable 
indifference  of  the  rugged  earth  ground  into 
the  faces  of  the  men  who  struggle  for  life  on 
her  stony  breast. 

"  Hot,"  observed  the  sheriff,  crowding  the 
bowl  of  his  pipe  and  thrusting  the  tobacco 
down  with  his  broad  thumb. 

The  mountaineer  folded  his  arms  over  the 
muzzle  of  his  rifle  and  leaned  upon  it  heavily. 

"  Yas,"  he  responded,  "  warmish," 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  187 

It  was  the  full  measure  of  salutation,  and 
the  full  measure  of  introduction  to  all  matters, 
important  or  unimportant,  on  the  watershed  of 
the  Alleghanies.  In  the  mountains  no  man 
hurried  with  his  speech.  There  was  time  to 
be  fully  understood,  and  time  to  answer  fully ; 
then  what  one  did  afterwards,  one  was  not  so 
likely  to  regret.  In  the  flat  lands  men  are  not 
so  wise,  perhaps. 

The  sheriff  struck  a  match  on  his  saddle 
skirt,  lighted  his  pipe,  and  puffed  a  cloud  of 
blue  smoke  rings  out  over  the  placid  ears  of 
the  "  murky  dun."  Presently  he  took  the 
pipe  stem  from  between  his  teeth  and  looked 
down  at  the  solitary  proprietor  of  Jim's  Ford. 

"  Spitler,"  he  drawled,  "  what  's  in  the 
bundle?" 

'  Ye  kin  look,"  responded  the  mountaineer 
with  prodigious  unconcern. 

The  sheriff  replaced  his  pipe  and  lapsed  into 
silence  for  a  moment.     Then  he  said : 
'  Where  did  you  find  it,  Spitler  ?" 

"  I  reckin  ye  saw,"  replied  the  scion  of  the 
house  of  Hamrick. 

The  guardian  of  order  looked  up  at  the  blue 


1 88          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

sky  over  the  top  of  his  nose  glasses.  Then  he 
looked  down.  "  Spitler," — he  said  softly. 

The  mountaineer  interrupted.  "  Sheriff," 
he  growled,  "  old  Spitler  Hamrick  don't  stand 
no  shammackin'  round  the  bush.  Smoky  hell ! 
He  aint  never  stood  it.  Things  air  goin'  to 
be  like  this :  ye  kin  mosey  down  here  and  git 
this  bundle,  air  ye  kin  ride  on.  But  ye  can't 
set  on  you  hoss  and  jaw.  Smoky  hell!  Ye 
can't  set  on  you  hoss  and  jaw." 

There  was  no  circumlocution,  no  trick  of 
equivocation,  no  shadow  of  obscurity  in  the 
speech  of  the  denizen  of  Hell's  Gap.  He  used 
words  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  exactly 
what  he  believed  to  be  true,  and  for  no  other 
purpose.  This  the  sheriff  knew,  and  others 
had  learned  and  remembered  by  certain  long 
glistening  scars,  covered  afterward  with  the 
red  flannel  of  their  hunting  shirts. 

White  Carter  removed  his  knee  from  the 
pommel  of  his  saddle  and  slipped  down  to  the 
ground.  Here  he  paused  for  a  moment, 
knocked  the  ashes  from  his  pipe  and  replaced 
it  in  his  pocket.  Then  he  clambered  down  the 
steep  bank  to  the  river.  The  proprietor  of 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  189 

Jim's  Ford  looked  on  with  mighty  indiffer- 
ence. The  sheriff  took  up  the  bundle  without 
a  word,  returned  to  his  horse,  and  unbuckling 
the  "  throat  latch  "  of  his  bridle,  strapped  the 
bundle  to  the  horn  of  his  saddle.  Then  he 
placed  his  right  foot  in  the  stirrup  and  turned 
to  the  mountaineer. 

"  Spitler,"  he  drawled,  "  we  found  a  dead 
man  in  Tug  the  other  day.  I  think  this  is  his 
coat." 

The  mountaineer  looked  up  from  the  muzzle 
of  his  Winchester.  "  Were  there  lead  in 
him  ?  "  he  asked. 

The  sheriff  flung  his  leg  over  the  saddle  and 
gathered  up  his  bridle  from  the  horse's  neck. 

"  No  bullet  holes,"  he  answered. 

"  Then,"  said  the  giant  Hamrick,  "  he  were 
not  killed  in  the  hills." 


IV 


IT  was  the  first  Monday  of  July,  and  the 
grand  inquisitors  of  the  county  of  McDow- 
ell were  in  laborious  session.  It  was  hot  in 
Welch, — so  hot  that  the  sheriff  had  purchased 
a  linen  coat  and  departed  for  Atlantic  City  on 
a  ten-dollar  excursion,  leaving  the  deputy, 
Salathiel  Jenkins,  to  swelter  with  the  grand 
jury.  So  hot  that  J.  E.  B.  Huron,  prosecut- 
ing attorney  by  selection  of  the  Common- 
wealth, resorted  to  expressions  not  quite  pro- 
fane but  nipping  close  to  the  border.  So  hot 
that  the  foreman  from  Charity  Fork  made  con- 
tinual odious  reference  to  that  historic  locality 
over  which  Lazarus  passed  in  the  bosom  of 
Abraham. 

The  grand  jury  was  a  body  mightily  out  of 
harmony  with  its  inquisitorial  affairs,  especially 
on  this  sweltering  Monday  when  the  mercury 
190 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  191 

was  mounting  heavenward.  The  members  of 
the  grand  jury  had  removed  their  coats,  they 
had  unbuttoned  their  shirts,  they  had  rolled 
up  their  sleeves  to  the  limit  over  their  great 
brown  arms.  It  was  hot — this  grand  jury. 
But  it  was  jovial  and  good-natured,  sixteen 
freeholders  of  the  bailiwick  turning  aside  for  a 
day  to  bolster  up  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the 
State.  The  characteristic  apparel  of  the  far- 
mer, the  hunter,  and  the  miner  was  on  this 
grand  jury,  but  there  were  no  collars;  not 
even  the  "  biled  shirt  "  of  notorious  report. 
If  one  had  spoken  of  a  haberdasher  or  essayed 
to  enumerate  his  wares  in  the  land  south  of 
Tug  River,  he  would  have  been  regarded  as  a 
purveyor  of  "  green  furrin  jabber,"  or  been 
pitied  as  a  hopeless  victim  of  idiot  mutterings. 
Thus  do  men  hoot  the  customs  of  their  fel- 
lows when  in  conflict  with  their  own.  One 
looking  at  this  grand  jury  as  an  exhibit  would 
have  gone  away  regretting  that  the  chief  fad 
of  Delilah  had  not  been  handed  down  in  the 
county  of  McDowell,  just  as  the  jury  would 
have  wondered  why  the  funny  little  man  di- 
vided his  hair  in  the  middle  like  a  woman  and 


192          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

wore  a  tight  band  around  his  neck  and  a  stiff 
breastplate  of  cloth  and  starch  over  his  ribs, 
when  he  could  dress  like  a  Christian,  and  be 
comfortable. 

At  two  o'clock  the  sage  body  had  concluded 
its  inquisition,  and  was  resting  ponderously 
while  the  foreman,  Abe  Collister,  of  Charity 
Fork,  was  slowly  and  with  infinite  pain  affix- 
ing his  signature  to  the  indictments.  It  was  no 
small  labor  for  one  whose  fingers  were  thick 
and  broad  and  accustomed  to  implements  little 
slighter  in  proportion  than  the  handle  of  an  axe 
or  the  stock  of  a  Winchester. 

The  facial  contortions  of  this  good  freeholder 
as  he  strove  in  a  clerical  capacity  would  have 
won  for  him  applause  and  fortune  and  wide 
repute  in  the  cast  of  a  comedy.  It  was  Fate's 
way,  better  than  genius  could  imitate,  but  no 
audience  to  see. 

It  is  the  function  of  bodies  of  this  sort  to  be 
severe,  and  it  is  their  way  to  be  most  amiable. 
The  prosecuting  attorney,  it  was  maintained, 
ought  to  know  what  he  wanted.  He  was  paid 
to  know.  It  was  his  business.  If  he  thought 
it  wise  to  send  in  witnesses  charging  one  with 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  193 

a  crime,  then  the  charge  should  be  found. 
This  conclusion  was  a  splendid  working  hy- 
pothesis, pregnant  with  expedition,  but  not 
quite  in  accord  with  the  ideal  jus. 

So  the  grand  jury  rested  as  the  afternoon 
grew  apace,  while  the  scripturian  from  Charity 
Fork  toiled,  and  the  prosecuting  attorney  went 
down  to  his  office  in  order  to  "  see  if  there  was 
anything  else  he  wanted."  It  was  at  this  hour 
of  lull,  that  a  nervous  little  man  hurried  into 
the  office  presided  over  by  the  industrious 
daughter  of  the  house  of  McFadden,  and  in- 
quired for  Mr.  Huron.  The  red  genius  replied 
that  he  was  busy.  According  to  this  oracle, 
young  Mr.  Huron  was  always  busy.  His  con- 
tinual status  was  one  of  tireless  toil, — as  con- 
tinuous as  a  mortgage,  and  as  tireless  as  a  gas 
meter. 

Just  then  the  prosecuting  attorney  came  out 
on  his  way  to  the  grand  jury  room.  The  little 
man  rushed  up  and  demanded  an  immediate 
audience.  The  two  returned  to  the  private 
office  and  closed  the  door.  Here  the  little 
man  looked  at  his  watch  and  announced  that 
things  would  have  to  be  rushed,  and  launched 


194          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

into  the  subject.  He  explained  with  almost 
breathless  rapidity  that  he  was  a  detective  from 
New  York,  representing  Loomey's  Agency. 
As  he  talked,  he  threw  back  his  coat  revealing 
a  badge  which  Mr.  Huron  did  not  stop  to  ex- 
amine. He  said  that  he  had  been  working  on 
the  case  of  Brown  Hirst;  that  he  had  finally 
discovered  that  Hirst  had  been  murdered, 
foully  murdered  by  one  Robert  Gilmore,  presi- 
dent of  the  Octagon  Coal  Company;  that  he 
had  the  case  tightened  around  Gilmore  beyond 
the  remotest  shadow  of  probability ;  that  Gil- 
more,  it  seemed,  had  by  some  means  learned 
of  the  damning  evidence  gathering  against 
him,  and  was  attempting  to  fly  from  the  coun- 
try ;  that  he  had  left  Philadelphia  disguised  as 
a  cattle  drover,  and  would  pass  through  Charles- 
ton, West  Virginia,  at  midnight  on  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  if  he  was  not 
then  arrested,  he  would  probably  escape  en- 
tirely, or,  at  the  least,  subject  his  trailer  to  the 
expense  and  the  tedium  of  an  extradition; 
hence  the  detective  had  hurried  to  Welch  in 
order  to  secure  an  indictment  at  once  and  re- 
turn to  Charleston  in  a  position  to  arrest  the 


Once  tn  Jeopardy.  195 

man  and  hold  him  under  a  legal  warrant  that 
would  be  valid  and  unquestioned. 

He  explained  that  he  must  leave  at  three 
o'clock  in  order  to  reach  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  Railroad  in  time,  and  requested  that  he 
be  permitted  to  go  at  once  before  the  grand- 
jury,  which  he  had  learned  was  now  in  session. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  listened  in  aston- 
ishment, but  he  was  a  man  familiar  with  the 
startling  surprises  of  criminal  investigation, 
and  he  set  himself  to  act  with  the  expedition 
which  the  matter  required.  He  went  at  once 
to  the  grand  jury  with  the  detective,  and  ex- 
plained that  he  had  just  received  information 
tending  to  the  conclusion  that  Brown  Hirst 
had  been  murdered ;  that  the  witness  with  him 
was  John  Bartlett,  a  detective  from  New  York, 
who  had  worked  up  the  case  and  would  give 
full  information  concerning  the  facts  of  the 
crime.  He  then  added  that  as  Mr.  Bartlett 
would  be  compelled  to  leave  within  the  hour, 
he  would  return  to  his  office  and  prepare  an 
indictment  for  murder.  In  the  meantime  the 
grand  jury  could  determine  whether  the  in- 
formation was  sufficient  to  sustain  the  charge, 


196          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

and,  if  so,  the  indictment  would  be  ready  and 
Mr.  Bartlett  could  return  to  Charleston  with- 
out unnecessary  delay. 

Then  he  withdrew,  and  the  grand  jury  of 
McDowell,  braced  by  the  gust  of  sudden  sen- 
sation, straightway  forgot  how  very  warm  it 
was  and  began  to  put  itself  into  a  state  of 
ponderous  bovine  expectancy. 

The  witness  Bartlett  sat  down  by  the  table, 
took  out  his  watch,  looked  at  it  anxiously, 
then  snapped  the  case  and  returned  it  to  his 
pocket. 

The  foreman  put  down  his  pen  very  care- 
fully, mopped  his  wet  face  with  a  great  red 
cotton  cloth,  and  strove  to  assume  the  gravity 
of  his  position. 

"  Your  name  's  Bartlett,  stranger  ?  "  said 
the  scripturian,  feeling  that  it  was  becoming 
for  him  to  set  the  wheels  of  judicial  investiga- 
tion in  motion,  but  not  quite  certain  of  the 
method.  '  You  are  a  detective  man;  and  I 
'low  you  know  all  about  this  here  little 
trouble?" 

The  latter  part  of  the  query  was  a  stock 
question  with  the  foreman.  All  day  long, 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  197 

every  crime,  from  homicide  to  assault  and  bat- 
tery, had  been  dubbed  by  this  arch  inquisitor 
as  "this  here  little  trouble."  If  there  was 
any  big  trouble  south  of  Tug  River,  it  was  not 
deemed  to  be  within  the  purlieus  of  the  lex 
scripta  or  the  lex  non  scripta  of  the  county  of 
McDowell. 

The  detective  saw  the  open  opportunity  to 
thrust  in  his  testimony  as  a  narrative,  and 
seized  it.  He  leaned  over  on  the  table,  assured 
himself  of  the  attention  of  the  jury,  and  began 
to  talk. 

He  told  how  he  had  trailed  this  matter 
down ;  how  the  Octagon  Coal  Company  was 
financially  on  the  verge  of  ruin,  and  it  was  his 
theory  that  Gilmore,  as  president,  had  been 
stealing  largely  from  the  company ;  that  Hirst 
had  finally  suspected  this  theft  and  had  sum- 
moned Gilmore  to  McDowell;  how  the  dan- 
gerous man  had  obeyed  the  summons,  had 
quarrelled  with  Hirst  in  the  office,  finally  killed 
him,  and  in  order  to  cover  the  crime  had  car- 
ried the  body  to  the  bridge  and  thrown  it  over, 
arranging  the  evidence  to  appear  like  a  suicide. 
He  painted  in  lurid  colors  the  desperate  char- 


198          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

acter  of  this  man  Gilmore ;  he  pointed  out  how 
fearful  of  arrest  the  murderer  of  Hirst  was,  at 
that  very  hour  hurrying  westward  in  order,  as 
he  believed,  to  put  himself  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  law. 

The  witness  talked  on  glib  and  shrewdly, 
and  while  he  talked,  the  jury,  unfamiliar  with 
the  rules  of  evidence,  grew  indignant  and  bitter, 
and  fired  with  a  sense  of  the  gigantic  outrage. 

Presently  the  door  opened  and  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  entered  with  the  indictment. 

' '  Are  you  ready  to  vote  on  the  matter,  gen- 
tlemen ?  "  he  asked. 

The  foreman  nodded  slowly.  "  I  guess  we 
are,  Jeb,"  he  answered. 

"  Then,"  responded  the  prosecuting  attor- 
ney, "  Mr.  Bartlett  and  myself  will  withdraw. " 

The  witness  arose  and  followed  Mr.  Huron 
out  of  the  jury  room. 

When  the  door  had  closed,  the  chief  in- 
quisitor from  Charity  Fork  picked  up  the 
indictment,  turned  it  over  curiously  in  his 
ponderous  hand,  and  then  laid  it  down  on  the 
table  with  the  back  up.  Then  he  took  up  his 
pen  and  jabbed  it  down  into  the  ink  pot. 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  199 

"  Boys,"  he  observed,  cheerily,  "  the  Good 
Book  says,  '  None  shall  escape,  no  not  one.' 
What  about  this  here  one  ?  " 

"  I  reckon,"  drawled  Uriah  Coburn,  sage 
and  philosopher,  and  most  venerable  member 
from  Injun  Run,  "  I  reckon  the  Good  Book 
air  right.  I  reckon  we  better  flop  him." 

"  Flop  "  was  an  accurate  idiom  in  McDow- 
ell, and,  being  translated,  meant,  "  to  throw 
heavily. ' ' 

To  this  the  grand  jury  agreed  with  many 
and  various  methods  of  assent.  So  the  mem- 
ber from  Charity  Fork  took  a  new  grip  on  his 
pen,  thrust  his  tongue  out  of  the  corner  of  his 
mouth,  and  slowly  and  with  great  labor  in- 
scribed on  the  back  of  the  indictment  this 
legend,  big  with  the  injured  dignity  of  the 
Commonwealth:  "A  True  Bill.  Abraham 
Collister,  Foreman." 


AT  high  noon  on  the  following  day  Salathiel 
Jenkins,  chief  deputy  of  the  absent  Car- 
ter, was  a  voluble  factor  in  McDowell.  He 
explained  with  many  a  dash  of  color  just  how 
"  me  and  Bartlett  "  had  taken  the  fleeing  Gil- 
more  from  a  midnight  train  and  transported 
him  to  the  jail  at  Welch,  where  he  now  lan- 
guished. How  brave  they  had  been,  how 
expeditious,  and  how  marvellously  successful 
in  each  of  their  desperate  moves.  Salathiel 
Jenkins  was  a  young  person  who  considered 
himself  of  huge  importance  to  the  economy  of 
nature, — an  opinion  with  which  the  world  at 
large  failed  to  concur.  The  conservative  Car- 
ter had  expressed  it  all  long  ago  when  he  re- 
marked with  immense  gravity  that  Salathiel 
Jenkins  was  not  wise.  But  the  deputy's  po- 
tential was  high,  and  he  talked.  He  explained 
200 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  201 

that  the  prisoner  had  employed  legal  counsel, 
with  whom  he  had  been  in  consultation  since 
his  arrival  in  the  town.  He  explained  that 
Mr.  Bartlett  had  advised  the  prosecuting  at- 
torney to  force  the  case  to  a  trial  at  once  in 
order  to  avoid  an  application  for  bail,  and  in 
order  to  prevent  the  prisoner  from  being  un- 
duly assisted  by  any  accomplice  he  might  have 
in  the  East. 

He  explained  that  the  evidence  against  Gil- 
more  was  overpowering,  that  there  were  wit- 
nesses who  knew  something  of  the  matter,  and 
he  had  the  subpoenas  in  his  pocket. 

He  explained  that  John  Bartlett  was  the 
greatest  detective  in  the  Republic,  and  that 
the  days  on  earth  of  Robert  Gilmore  were 
growing  lamentably  short.  The  self-import- 
ance of  young  Mr.  Jenkins  gushed  and  bubbled 
and  expanded  until  it  threatened  to  bulge  his 
anatomical  proportions,  and  he  talked  and  he 
talked.  He  descanted  with  acrimonious  criti- 
cism upon  the  fact  that  Mr.  Huron  had  asked 
for  time  in  which  to  examine  the  evidence, 
and  that  he  and  the  great  Bartlett  had  labored 
to  convince  him  that  the  case  should  be  put  to 


202          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

trial  at  once,  and  that  they  had  had  a  lot  of 
trouble,  but  that  it  was  all  right  now,  and 
when  court  convened  in  the  morning  the  case 
would  be  called  and  pushed,  and  he  gloried  in 
the  fact  that  he  and  Bartlett  had  assumed 
large  responsibility  for  this  splendid  expe- 
dition. 

It  thus  came  about  that  the  court-room  was 
so  crowded  on  the  following  morning  that  the 
judge  as  he  came  down  to  his  bench  had  liter- 
ally to  elbow  his  way  through.  The  details  of 
this  morning's  procedure  demonstrated  that 
while  the  deputy  Jenkins  had  talked  he  had 
been  telling  the  truth.  After  the  docket  was 
called,  the  prosecuting  attorney  arose  and  re- 
quested that  a  jury  be  empanelled  for  the 
trial  of  the  case  of  the  State  vs.  Gilmore. 

The  judge  expressed  some  surprise  at  this 
unusual  haste,  and  intimated  that  if  an  objec- 
tion was  urged  he  would  continue  the  case  to 
a  later  day  of  the  term.  To  his  surprise,  how- 
ever, counsel  for  Gilmore  replied  that  he  was 
quite  ready  for  trial. 

Whereupon  a  jury  was  had  and  the  case 
ordered  to  proceed.  The  opening  statement 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  203 

of  the  prosecuting  attorney  was  frank.  It 
gave  the  history  of  the  case  as  he  had  heard  it 
from  Bartlett,  admitting  freely  that  he  had 
been  unable  to  investigate  the  matter  person- 
ally, but  upon  his  information  he  was  con- 
vinced that  the  prisoner  was  guilty. 

To  this  the  counsel  for  Gilmore  replied  that 
the  State  was  laboring  under  a  stupendous 
delusion ;  that  Mr.  Gilmore  was  a  gentleman 
of  standing,  and  that  it  would  quickly  appear 
that  there  was  no  cause  for  subjecting  his  client 
to  the  odium  of  a  criminal  prosecution. 

The  spectators  were  not  a  little  disgusted 
with  the  tame  proceedings.  They  had  ex- 
pected a  keen  and  spirited  struggle  with  the 
startling  thrusts  and  parries  of  a  bitter  legal 
affair.  They  had  hoped  to  hear  the  steel  grate, 
and  to  see  the  blades  dart  forward  and  bend 
and  fly  back,  as  the  champion  of  the  State  and 
its  enemy  strove  for  some  master  vantage. 
They  hoped  for  the  fierce  interests  and  the 
quick  sharp  thrills  incident  to  the  grim  fight  of 
a  desperate  criminal  for  his  liberty  and  his  life, 
and  they  were  disgusted. 

Their  strong  pugnacious  spirit  sympathized 


2O4         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

with  Gilmore  and  damned  his  counsel.  In  the 
picturesque  speech  of  an  auditor  from  "  Dog 
Skin,"  "  The  lawyer  was  a  quitter." 

The  case  progressed  with  almost  exasperat- 
ing insipidity. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  proceeded  with 
great  deliberation,  and  with  the  air  of  one  who 
maintains  a  thunderbolt  in  reserve.  He  proved 
the  death  of  Brown  Hirst  by  the  coroner  and 
others ;  he  introduced  the  books  of  the  com- 
pany showing  its  financial  standing;  and  put 
in  such  other  matters  of  unimportant  evidence 
as  were  easily  at  hand.  To  all  this  the  counsel 
for  Gilmore  made  no  objection.  To  the  ob- 
server, he  was  stupidly  indifferent. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  then  placed  the 
detective  John  Bartlett  on  the  stand.  Bartlett 
explained  with  great  volubility  that  he  was  a 
member  of  Loomey's  Detective  Agency ;  that 
he  had  learned  of  the  mysterious  death  of 
Brown  Hirst,  and  hoping  to  obtain  the  reward 
offered  by  Hirst's  widow,  had  gone  to  her  and 
requested  permission  to  investigate  the  case. 
He  explained  that  he  had  learned  that  the  Oc- 
tagon Coal  Company  was  in  desperate  financial 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  205 

straits;  that  the  president,  Robert  Gilmore, 
who  resided  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  had 
been  in  the  county  of  McDowell  on  the  night 
of  Hirst's  death,  and  from  these  data  he  had 
formulated  his  theory  to  the  effect  that  Gil- 
more  had  been  stealing  from  the  company; 
that  this  fact  had  been  discovered  by  Hirst, 
and  that  they  had  come  together  in  McDowell 
for  the  purpose  of  discussing  this  matter ;  that 
there  the  two  men  had  quarrelled,  and  the 
result  was  that  Hirst  had  been  killed  and  his 
body  thrown  into  the  river,  and  the  evidence 
of  suicide  manufactured  by  Robert  Gilmore. 

The  detective  explained  further  that  being 
advised  that  Robert  Gilmore  intended  to  leave 
Philadelphia  for  St.  Louis,  and  fearing  that  it 
was  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  president  of 
the  Octagon  Coal  Company  to  escape  from  the 
country,  he  had  hurried  to  McDowell  and 
secured  an  indictment. 

Upon  cross-examination  it  at  once  appeared 
that  this  detective  had  no  knowledge  of  any 
fact  whatever,  but  was  merely  speaking  from 
certain  conclusions  which  he  was  pleased  to 
call  his  theory.  The  attorney  for  the  defense 


206          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

moved  to  strike  out  the  evidence  of  this  wit- 
ness,  which  was  accordingly  done,  much  to  the 
chagrin  of  John  Bartlett,  detective,  and  Sala- 
thiel  Jenkins,  deputy-in-extraordinary  to  the 
sheriff  of  McDowell. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  then  proceeded  to 
spring  his  sensation.  He  announced  to  the 
court  that  during  the  night  Gilmore  had  made 
a  confession  to  Mr.  Jenkins,  the  deputy,  and 
that  he  desired  to  have  Mr.  Jenkins  sworn  and 
his  testimony  introduced.  Accordingly  the 
irrepressible  Jenkins,  by  virtue  of  an  oath  prop- 
erly administered,  was  transformed  into  a  wit- 
ness for  the  State  of  West  Virginia. 

Before  the  witness  was  permitted  to  launch 
into  his  marvellous  story  of  the  self-condemna- 
tion of  Robert  Gilmore,  the  attorney  for  the 
defense  arose  and  demanded  permission  to  in- 
quire into  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
alleged  confession  had  been  obtained.  The 
judge  replied  that  such  inquiry  was  entirely 
proper,  and  the  attorney  for  the  defense  began. 

The  ways  of  Providence  are  without  premo- 
nition. At  the  first  onslaught  of  the  attorney 
for  Gilmore,  the  importance  of  the  testimony 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  207 

of  Salathiel  Jenkins  vanished  like  a  New  Year's 
resolution.  Yes,  he  had  gone  to  the  prisoner 
together  with  John  Bartlett ;  he  had  explained 
that  he  was  the  deputy  sheriff  of  the  county  of 
McDowell ;  that  he  was  a  person  of  influence ; 
that  the  prisoner  was  in  grave  peril  ;  and  that, 
if  a  full  confession  were  made,  he,  Jenkins, 
would  induce  the  authorities  of  the  law  to  deal 
leniently  with  the  prisoner.  He  was  a  person 
of  importance,  he  said,  and,  in  the  absence  of 
the  sheriff,  the  first  guardian  of  all  the  law  and 
order  in  the  county  of  McDowell;  if  the  pris- 
oner would  confess,  he,  Salathiel  Jenkins,  could 
save  him  from  the  hangman,  and  he  would 
doit. 

These  were  the  conditions  under  which  the 
alleged  confession  was  made. 

At  this  point  in  his  narrative,  the  attorney 
for  the  prisoner  stopped  the  witness,  and  ob- 
jected to  the  introduction  of  the  confession  as 
having  been  improperly  obtained.  The  court 
very  promptly  sustained  the  objection,  and 
directed  the  witness  to  stand  aside. 

The  prosecuting  attorney  arose  and  asked 
the  court  to  nolle  the  indictment  and  permit 


208          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

the  case  to  be  dismissed.  The  judge  reminded 
him  that  the  case  was  at  trial,  and  that 
such  action  could  not  now  be  taken ;  that  the 
request  should  have  been  made  before  a  jury 
was  called ;  it  was  now  too  late,  since  the  con- 
trol of  the  cause  had  passed  from  the  hands  of 
the  State. 

Young  Mr.  Huron,  prosecuting  attorney  of 
the  county  of  McDowell,  was  lost,  rudderless, 
upon  an  unknown  sea.  He  arose  and  ex- 
plained that  he  had  not  had  an  opportunity  to 
investigate  the  evidence  ;  that  he  had  not 
spoken  with  the  witnesses  ;  that  he  had  de- 
pended upon  John  Bartlett  and  the  confession 
made  to  Salathiel  Jenkins  in  order  to  convict 
the  prisoner,  and  that,  failing  with  these,  he 
had  no  further  evidence  to  introduce. 

The  court  interrupted  this  speech  of  expla- 
nation, and  reminded  the  attorney  that  the 
State  could  not  urge  such  excuses  ;  that  the 
prisoner,  having  been  put  to  the  hazard  of  a 
defense,  was  entitled  to  have  his  cause  legally 
determined;  a  nolle prosequi  could  not  now  be 
entered,  and  the  case  must  proceed. 

To  this  the  young  attorney,  having  recov- 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  209 

ered  his  composure,  replied  that  the  State  had 
nothing  more  to  offer,  and  resumed  his  seat. 

The  counsel  for  Gilmore  at  once  moved  the 
court  to  direct  a  verdict  of  not  guilty,  which 
was  accordingly  done  and  the  prisoner  dis- 
charged. 

Mystic,  and  varied,  and  without  premoni- 
tion are  the  ways  of  Providence.  When  the 
negro  miner  went  down  into  the  sunless  tem- 
ples of  the  earth  on  this  Wednesday  of  July, 
Salathiel  Jenkins  was  a  person  of  high  estate, 
crowding  mightily  the  orbit  of  his  employer. 
And  when  the  negro  miner  came  up  at  eve- 
ning, this  same  Salathiel  Jenkins  was  a  crest- 
fallen underling,  shrinking  like  a  rotten  value. 
The  ordeal  was  frightful.  The  pride  of  young 
Mr.  Jenkins  had  gone  through  a  process  of 
sublimation  most  excruciating.  And  yet  how 
abominably  indifferent  nature  was.  The  books 
in  the  office  of  the  sheriff  were  the  same.  The 
trees,  the  river,  and  indeed  the  entire  outside 
world  were  quite  as  large  as  they  had  been. 
Only  the  importance  of  the  deputy  had  shrunk, 
and  was  shrinking.  Master  of  folly!  Would 
it  stop  short  of  microscopic  ?  The  vice  of  his 

*4 


2io         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

yesterday  loomed  clear-cut  like  the  angles  of  a 
wall.  He  had  talked,  talked.  It  was  the 
deadliest  error.  In  the  name  of  that  noto- 
rious Simon  of  infantile  record,  was  there  no 
God  to  save  the  witless  from  himself  ? 

The  crowd  passed  out  of  the  court-room, 
and,  sauntering  down  by  the  office  of  the  mis- 
erable deputy,  paused  to  harpoon  him  as  it 
drifted  by.  The  weather  was  fine  for  scaffold 
building,  it  observed.  Would  the  deputy 
spring  the  trap  in  the  absence  of  his  chief  ?  it 
was  interested  to  know.  Could  he  tie  a  hang- 
man's knot  ?  Would  he  be  pleased  to  have 
the  gracious  assistance  of  his  fellows  ?  And 
more  ingenious  proddings,  while  the  weary 
Jenkins  perspired  and  shrunk,  but  was  silent. 
This  he  had  learned :  like  as  the  great  lessons 
of  life  by  hap  learned  too  late. 

And  that  same  night  John  Bartlett  and 
Robert  Gilmore  hurrying  eastward  in  a  Pull- 
man car  on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad 
remarked  with  large  favorable  comment  that 
the  ancient  doctrine  of  lex  vigilantibus  non 
dormientibus  subvenit  was  marvellously  true  in 
this  practical  time. 


VI 


ON  the  night  of  the  seventeenth  day  of  July 
the  judge  of  the  criminal  court  of  Mc- 
Dowell walked  into  the  office  of  the  sheriff. 
He  was  in  no  altruistic  mood,  this  jurist. 
Since  his  fortunate  political  affiliations  had 
thrust  him  into  a  high  estate  his  dignity  sat 
upon  him  heavy  as  a  fog.  He  had  been  sent 
for.  It  was  thoughtlessness  approaching  near 
to  disrespect.  When  the  tall  jurist  entered, 
the  crowd  in  the  office  of  White  Carter  arose. 

"Judge,"  drawled  the  sheriff,  coming  for- 
ward, "  you  must  pardon  the  centurion  for 
taking  this  liberty  with  the  tribune,  but  we 
were  holding  a  secret  war  council,  and  pres- 
ently required  the  fountain  of  law.  I  am 
sure  you  won't  mind,  Judge." 

The  fountain  of  law  flung  aside  his  injured 
feeling  with  a  wave  of  his  slim  hand. 

211 


212          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  It  is  all  right,  Carter,"  he  observed.  "But 
why  the  conclave  ?  Good  men  should  be 
abed." 

'  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech, ' ' '  drawled 
the  sheriff,  "  and  night  unto  night  showeth 
knowledge.  And  just  here  the  hurt  lies.  The 
boys  have  been  crowding  the  day  and  shirking 
the  night  turn." 

Then  he  stepped  back  by  his  companions 
and  added :  "  Young  Mr.  Huron  we  will  over- 
look, as  familiar  in  your  honor's  forum.  The 
other  gentleman  is  Mr.  Hartmyer  Belfast,  in 
the  secret  service  of  the  New  York  life  insur- 
ance companies." 

The  judge  nodded  cordially  and  sat  down  by 
the  table.  The  others  also  resumed  their  seats, 
while  the  sheriff  removed  his  eye-glasses,  placed 
them  carefully  on  the  forefinger  of  his  fat  right 
hand,  and  began  to  explain. 

"  While  I  was  absent,  I  believe,  one  Robert 
Gilmore  was  indicted  here  and  tried  for  mur- 
der, which  trial  resulted  in  a  verdict  of  not 
guilty,  the  evidence  being  insufficient  to  sus- 
tain the  charge.  It  now  appears  that  Gilmore 
did  kill  Hirst,  and  that  he  can  now  be  con- 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  213 

victed  with  the  evidence  in  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Belfast  and  myself." 

The  judge  elevated 'his  eyebrows,  but  volun- 
teered no  comment. 

The  sheriff  continued.  "  At  the  time  of 
Hirst's  death  I  was  not  quite  certain  that  it 
was  suicide.  The  coat  and  vest  found  on  the 
bridge  did  not  correspond  to  the  trousers  and 
shoes  of  the  deceased,  which  were  the  ordinary 
rough  articles  worn  by  the  miners.  There  was 
no  explanation  for  such  dress  on  the  part  of 
Hirst.  Later  I  found  a  miner's  coat  at  Jim's 
Ford  which  corresponded  to  the  other  clothing 
of  Hirst.  This  coat  had  been  tied  in  a  bundle 
and  thrown  into  the  river  above — probably  at 
the  bridge.  Stitched  in  the  lining  was  a  pocket 
book  belonging  to  Brown  Hirst  containing  some 
money  and  a  draft  on  New  York,  together 
with  a  memorandum  of  a  number  of  life  insur- 
ance policies.  These  matters  led  me  to  believe 
that  Hirst  had  planned  to  secure  the  insurance 
on  his  life  by  arranging  a  counterfeit  suicide,  but 
by  some  means  the  plan  had  failed  after  the  evi- 
dence had  been  prepared  and  he  had  come  to  a 
violent  death,  probably  by  the  hand  of  another. 


214         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  But  the  matter  was  involved  in  mystery, 
and  I  deemed  it  best  to  retain  my  conclusions 
until  further  developments  should  appear.  I 
wrote  to  the  various  companies  with  which 
Hirst  was  insured,  explaining  the  facts  which  I 
had  determined.  They  replied  that  the  matter 
was  in  the  hands  of  Hartmyer  Belfast,  their 
secret  agent,  and  that  I  would  be  advised 
when  the  investigation  was  complete. 

"  A  few  days  since  the  companies  wired  me 
that  Mr.  Belfast  might  be  expected  to  appear 
in  my  county  at  any  time,  and  yesterday  he 
called  upon  me." 

The  sheriff  moved  a  little  closer  to  the  table, 
and  the  drawl  seemed  to  slip  out  of  his  speech. 

"  It  can  now  be  shown  that  Robert  Gilmore 
came  to  McDowell  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
Hirst  to  manufacture  evidence  of  a  suicide; 
that  he  went  with  him  upon  the  bridge,  and 
after  enticing  Hirst  to  the  rail  of  the  bridge, 
suddenly  threw  him  over  into  the  river.  The 
train  men  can  be  produced  who  saw  Gilmore 
when  he  arrived  and  when  he  departed  on  the 
night  of  the  murder.  All  of  this  evidence  has 
been  carefully  prepared.  In  addition,  it  can 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  215 

be  shown  that  immediately  after  his  trial,  for 
some  mysterious  reason  Gilmore  went  directly 
to  Philadelphia  and  arranged  for  a  conference 
with  the  widow  of  Brown  Hirst.  Of  this  Mr. 
Belfast  had  notice,  and,  by  request  of  Mrs. 
Hirst,  he  was  present,  concealed  in  an  adjoin- 
ing room.  This  conference  between  Gilmore 
and  Mrs.  Hirst  was  remarkable.  The  man  was 
deeply  affected,  and  said  that  he  had  come  to 
tell  her  the  entire  history  of  his  villainy,  be- 
cause he  loved  her,  had  loved  her  always,  and 
now  knew  that  he  could  never  have  her. 
Whereupon  he  explained  that  Hirst  and  him- 
self had  planned  to  rob  the  insurance  com- 
panies ;  that  Hirst's  marriage  to  her  was  part 
of  the  scheme,  but  that  he,  Gilmore,  had  grown 
to  love  her,  and  to  regret  his  action  in  procur- 
ing the  marriage,  and  so  frightfully  had  this 
grown  upon  him  that  finally  he  had  killed 
Hirst. 

"  He  then  explained  the  minute  circum- 
stances of  the  death,  adding  that  he  had  been 
tried  and  acquitted,  and  would  now  leave  the 
country,  but  that  something  in  his  bosom 
would  not  rest  until  he  had  told  her  the 


2 1 6          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

entire  truth.  So  we  have  now,  I  judge,  a 
complete  case,  together  with  the  confession, 
which,  I  am  told,  will  be  quite  proper  evi- 
dence, and  with  such  a  case  there  can  now  be 
nothing  in  the  way  of  Gilmore's  conviction." 

"  Nothing  at  all,"  observed  the  judge,  dryly, 
"  except  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
of  America." 

The  sheriff  sat  down  suddenly  and  replaced 
the  eye-glasses  on  his  fat  nose. 

"  You  mean,"  said  the  prosecuting  attor- 
ney, "  that  the  prisoner  cannot  be  put  twice 
in  jeopardy  for  the  same  offense  ?  " 

"  Unless,"  responded  the  judge,  "  the  ju- 
dicial machinery  in  McDowell  can  be  held  ex- 
empt from  the  Constitution  of  the  State  and 
the  Constitution  of  the  Federal  Government, 
a  conclusion,"  he  added,  with  prodigious  grav- 
ity, "  in  which  I  should  rather  hesitate  to  con- 
cur upon  a  casual  hearing.  Having  been  once 
properly  tried  for  murder,  this  man  cannot  be 
again  tried  for  the  same  offense." 

"  It  has  been  held,"  said  the  prosecuting 
attorney,  "  that  where  the  first  trial  was  pro- 
cured by  the  fraud  of  the  prisoner,  the  case 


Once  in  J  eopardy.  217 

did  not  come  within  the  provisions  of  the  Con- 
stitution." 

"  True,"  replied  the  judge,  "  there  is  an 
early  case  in  Virginia,  and  later  cases  of  record, 
but  the  fraud  must  be  gross  and  apparent. 
What  fraud  could  be  shown  here  ?  The  in- 
dictment was  properly  found,  the  trial  was 
regular,  no  suspicion  of  conspiracy  attaches  to 
the  officers  of  the  State,  nor  can  it  be  shown 
that  even  misstatements  were  made,  unless  a 
plain  conspiracy  can  be  shown  on  the  part  of 
this  detective,  John  Bartlett. ' '  Then  he  turned 
to  the  secret  agent  of  the  life  insurance  com- 
panies. "How  about  this  Bartlett?"  he 
asked. 

"  So  far  as  I  can  learn,"  replied  the  detect- 
ive, "  Bartlett  made  no  false  statements.  He 
is  a  member  of  Loomey's  Agency  in  New 
York.  It  is  true  that  he  called  on  Mrs.  Hirst 
and  requested  permission  to  investigate  the 
case.  What  he  stated  to  the  prosecuting  at- 
torney as  facts  were  facts.  Of  course,  his 
theory  was  wrong,  and  his  deductions  incor- 
rect ;  but  for  these,  I  presume,  he  could  not  be 
held  responsible.  I  have  investigated  the  mat- 


2 1 8         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

ter  with  care,  and  while  it  is  extremely  prob- 
able that  this  trial  was  shrewdly  procured  by 
Gilmore,  yet  it  has  been  so  skilfully  handled 
that  no  fraudulent  proceeding  could  be  shown 
on  the  part  of  Bartlett,  although  I  am  quite 
certain  of  his  villainy. 

The  sheriff  rubbed  his  hands  with  the  bland 
unction  of  a  Hebrew  at  a ' '  fire  sale. "  "  Jeb, ' ' 
he  drawled,  "  I  guess  you  're  it.  I  guess  the 
thing  is  all  over  but  the  shouting." 

"  Well,"  responded  the  prosecutor,  "  I 
judge  there  are  others.  How  about  the  la- 
mented Jenkins,  erstwhile  representative  of 
the  sheriff  of  McDowell  ?  Is  the  young  man 
Absalom  safe  ? ' ' 

A  faint  ripple  of  merriment  spread  over  the 
fat  face  of  the  sheriff.  "  Boys,"  he  mused, 
"  it  was  a  keen  flim-flam.  Let  us  quietly  dis- 
perse, and  endeavor  to  live  it  down."  Then 
he  added  wearily,  "  It  may  be  good  to  be 
good,  but  it  is  safer  to  be  smooth." 

The  judge  arose.  "  Mr.  Gilmore  has  been 
tried  and  acquitted,"  he  observed.  "  The  rec- 
ord is  complete.  He  cannot  be  held  again  to 
answer  for  this  crime,  even  though  he  be 


Once  in  Jeopardy.  219 

pleased  to  proclaim  his  guilt  from  the  house- 
tops." 

"  Then,"  said  the  detective,  with  the  dreary 
deliberation  of  one  retiring  from  a  failing 
cause,  "  this  murderer  cannot  be  punished." 

The  dreamy  blue  eyes  of  White  Carter  swam 
listlessly. 

"  Perhaps,"  he  drawled,  "  when  the  gentle- 
man shall  have  passed  the  melancholy  flood 
with  that  grim  ferryman  whom  poets  write  of 
unto  the  Kingdom  of  Perpetual  Night." 


THE  GRAZIER 

(See  Code  of  West  Virginia,  Chap,  cxxiv.,  Sec.  14;  Chap, 
cvi.,  Sec.  25  ;  also  Chap.  cxxv.  See  any  good  text  book  oi> 
Landlord  and  Tenant.  The  case  also  of  Martin  Admix  vs. 
Smith  et  a/.,  25  West  Virginia,  579,  and  cases  cited.) 


931 


THE  GRAZIER 


THE  driller  of  the  Bonnie  Mag  No.  3  had 
been  keeping  his  weather  eye  on  the 
public  road  all  the  long  summer  afternoon; 
exacting  and  laborious  duties  had  obtained 
under  the  shadow  of  the  oil  derrick  on  this 
nineteenth  day  of  August,  quite  sufficient  to 
have  distracted  the  attention  of  the  ordinary 
man,  but  through  it  all  the  driller  had  main- 
tained his  watch.  The  pumper,  a  grimy  mor- 
tal, who  regarded  the  monster  oil  company  as 
the  sole  and  omnipotent  power  of  the  universe, 
had  marked  this  apparent  anxiety  of  the  driller, 
and  inquired,  with  some  trace  of  humor,  if  that 
gentleman  was  expecting  to  see  grease  gush  up 
out  of  the  road.  To  which  the  driller  had  re- 
223 


224         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

sponded  with  barbaric  profanity  that  the  pump- 
er had  been  employed  to  pump,  and  that  he 
might  hold  his  position  by  holding  his  tongue, 
but  not  otherwise.  A  suggestion  that  banished 
all  levity  from  the  speech  of  the  pumper.  Be- 
sides, there  was  a  red  glint  in  the  eyes  of  the 
driller,  and  the  underling  of  the  great  oil  com- 
pany appreciated  perfectly  the  full  significance 
of  the  sign.  He  had  noticed  it  before  on 
divers  eventful  occasions,  especially  on  a  cer- 
tain morning  when  being  interrupted  by  an 
order  of  the  Circuit  Court,  the  driller  had 
promptly  suggested  to  the  deputy  sheriff  that 
he  might  go  to  the  infernal  regions  with  his  in- 
junction ;  and  instead  of  suspending  operations 
until  the  legal  forum  could  determine  the  title 
to  the  realty,  he  had  complied  with  his  con- 
tract by  pushing  his  well  through  to  the  Gor- 
don sand. 

It  was  true  indeed  that  the  Circuit  Court 
had  attached  the  body  of  the  driller  and  bring- 
ing him  up  before  its  august  presence  fined 
him  two  hundred  dollars  for  contempt,  but  the 
old  man  had  paid  over  the  money  without  the 
hesitation  of  a  moment  and  immediately  there- 


The  Grazier.  225 

after  consigned  the  Circuit  Court  to  the  same 
heated  region  originally  suggested  to  the 
deputy  sheriff. 

The  sun  had  gone  down,  and  the  twilight 
was  beginning  to  gather  on  the  oil  field.  The 
shadows  darkened  across  the  long  sloping  val- 
ley, and  the  great  derricks  in  the  half  light 
looked  dark  and  gaunt  and  threatening  like 
some  grim  engines  of  war.  It  was  now  diffi- 
cult to  observe  the  highway  from  the  oil  wells 
far  up  on  the  hill  side,  and  the  driller,  who 
evidently  intended  to  maintain  his  surveillance 
of  the  county  thoroughfare  at  any  cost, 
stepped  out  from  the  shadow  of  the  derrick 
and  began  to  wipe  his  hands  on  the  grass; 
when  he  had  finished  he  turned  to  the  pumper. 
'  Just  keep  your  eye  on  that  cable,"  he  said 
curtly,  "I  '11  be  back  when  you  see  me 
coming."  Then  he  turned  and  walked  slowly 
down  the  path  to  the  road. 

The  soft  breath  of  wind  creeping  up  from 
the  North  through  the  rift  in  the  low  hills 
brought  with  it  no  sound,  save  the  dull  cease- 
less thump  of  the  engines  drawing  streams 
of  liquid  wealth  from  a  thousand  narrow  arter- 

'S 


226          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

ies  leading  down  into  the  bosom  of  the  earth. 
This  great  industry,  not  content  with  changing 
the  civilization,  had  changed  also  the  very  face 
of  the  land ;  two  years  before  this  fluttering 
summer  breeze  had  carried  with  it  the  murmur 
of  ripening  corn  fields,  the  sweet  odor  of  quiet 
pasture  land  where  herds  of  fattening  cattle 
wandered  through  fields  of  blue  grass.  Now, 
the  lands  were  marked  with  wagon  roads, 
studded  with  the  rough  shanties  of  the  pump- 
ers and  the  gigantic  wooden  tanks  of  the  great 
oil  companies;  and  here  and  there,  like  the 
twisted  ugly  back  of  some  huge  serpent,  a 
black  pipe  line  stretched  its  interminable 
length  across  the  broken  country.  Greed 
ruled  the  world,  and  beauty,  like  many  an- 
other gift  of  nature,  was  battered  out  under 
his  hammer. 

The  oil  driller  stopped  at  the  road  side  and 
leaned  his  long  body  on  the  rail  fence.  He 
was  a  thin,  old  man,  with  sharp,  emaciated  feat- 
ures ;  his  hair  and  iron-gray  beard  were  matted 
with  oil,  and  his  long  arms,  bare  to  the  elbow 
and  burned  black  by  the  sun,  glistened  greasy 
as  the  piston  of  his  engine.  The  ancient  work- 


The  Grazier.  227 

man  kept  his  watch  in  dead  silence,  and  beyond 
this  his  face  showed  no  interest.  This  man 
belonged  to  that  iron  type  upon  which  the 
world  has  depended  so  much  for  its  civilization, 
that  type  which  no  matter  where  placed  toils 
on  in  its  station  like  a  machine,  unquestioning, 
tireless,  reliable  as  a  law.  In  the  rank  of  their 
legions  it  had  extended  the  rule  of  the  Caes- 
ars ;  on  the  broad  decks  of  the  men-of-war  it 
had  widened  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain; 
and  in  the  mines  and  mills  and  forests  of 
America  it  had  reared  and  maintained  and 
enriched  a  Republic  ;  growing  greater  than 
them  all. 

Presently  in  the  deepening  twilight  a  huge 
shadow  appeared  at  the  foot  of  the  long  hill, 
and  the  driller  heard  distinctly  the  sound  of  a 
horse  coming  leisurely  up  the  sandy  road.  As 
it  approached,  the  indefinite  shadow  took  on  a 
clear  and  decided  outline,  until  one  in  the 
position  of  the  driller  could  have  seen  that  it 
was  an  enormous  man,  riding  a  red  roan  horse. 
The  man  was  leaning  forward,  his  head  down 
and  his  hands  resting  on  the  pommel  of  his 
saddle,  while  the  bridle  reins  dangled  loose  in 


228         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

his  fingers.  When  they  were  opposite,  the 
driller  spoke. 

"  Is  that  you,  Alshire  ?  "  he  said. 

The  giant  threw  back  his  great  shoulders  and 
stopped  his  horse  with  a  wrench  on  the  bridle 
reins.  "  Morg  Gaston!"  he  announced  with 
some  trace  of  surprise  in  his  voice,  then  he 
added,  half-apologetically,  "  what  's  the  good 
word  with  you  ?  " 

The  driller  climbed  heavily  over  the  big 
staked-and-ridered  fence,  "  I  saw  you  go  down 
this  morning,"  he  said,  "  and  I  have  been 
watching  for  you  back;  I  want  to  tell  you 
something." 

Then  he  came  over  to  the  middle  of  the  road 
and  rested  his  greasy  chin  on  the  mane  of  the 
red  roan. 

"  Hell  of  a  high  horse,"  said  the  driller. 

"  Seventeen  hands,"  responded  the  giant. 

The  old  man  ran  his  eyes  slowly  over  the 
immense  proportions  of  the  traveller,  his  deep, 
powerful  chest,  his  broad,  thick  shoulders  and 
his  massive  limbs  almost  grotesquely  huge. 

"  You  are  not  little  yourself,"  he  observed, 
as  though  announcing  a  discovery,  "  and  I  am 


The  Grazier.  229 

darned  glad  of  it,  leastways  I  was  darned  glad 
of  it  that  morning  old  Ward's  rotten  derrick 
blowed  down,  and  you  chanced  along  and 
lifted  her  off  me.  I  was  pinned  under  them 
timbers  like  a  rat." 

The  man  laughed,  but  his  face  in  the  dark 
was  not  merry.  The  driller  extended  his  close 
inspection  to  the  horse ;  when  he  had  finished 
he  stepped  back  in  the  road  and  an  expression 
of  intense  admiration  spread  itself  over  his 
rugged  features. 

"  By  jolly!  "  he  said,  "  you  are  a  pair  to 
draw  to." 

The  giant  patted  the  withers  of  the  great 
horse. 

"  Cardinal  is  a  good  colt,"  he  replied,  "  good 
as  they  grow. ' ' 

The  driller  stood  for  some  moments  gazing 
almost  worshipfully  at  the  pair  ;  then  he 
straightened  suddenly  and  coming  up  close  to 
the  horse  rested  his  arms,  wet  with  petroleum, 
on  the  pommel  of  the  saddle. 

"Alshire,"  he  said,  lowering  his  voice,  "  the 
Company  thinks  there  is  grease  under  your 
land.  I  was  up  to  see  the  manager  last  night, 


230         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

and  while  I  was  there  the  engineers  came  in 
with  the  maps,  and  they  all  agreed  that  the 
head  of  the  pool  was  about  under  your  farm. 
You  are  nigh  on  to  three  miles  east  of  the  de- 
velopment, but  the  belt  is  surely  running  your 
way;  this  here  last  well  that  the  Company 
plugged  is  forty  barrels  better  than  the  No.  I 
five  hundred  feet  west;  and  I  '11  tell  you 
another  thing,  there  ain't  no  more  boring  in 
this  region  until  the  Company-  gets  its  clutches 
on  all  this  land  laying  to  the  east,  yours  in- 
cluded. My  instructions  is  to  make  this  last 
one  dry,  and  move  over  into  Ohio." 

The  great  Alshire  bent  over  and  placed  his 
broad  hand  on  the  greasy  arm  of  the  driller. 
"  I  'm  obliged  to  you,  Morg,"  he  said  slowly. 
"  I  '11  look  out." 

"  By  jolly!"  continued  the  old  workman, 
"  you  better  had,  they  are  a  smooth  set  of 
divels,  and  whatever  you  do,  keep  your  mouth 
plugged.  I  ain't  never  given  the  Company 
the  double  cross  before,  but  I  could  n't  see 
them  skin  you,  by  jolly,  I  could  n't! " 

The  old  driller  spoke  rapidly,  as  though  half 
ashamed  of  his  treason,  and  when  he  had 


The  Grazier.  231 

finished  turned  and  began  climbing  the  high 
fence. 

"  Morg,"  called  the  giant.     "  Morg." 

"  That's  all  right,"  answered  the  driller,  as 
he  vanished  up  the  dark  hill  side,  "  just  keep 
your  mouth  plugged;  that  's  all  right." 

The  giant  touched  his  horse  in  the  flank 
with  his  heel  and  rode  on. 

Rufus  Alshire  was  a  grazier,  a  business  al- 
most exclusively  followed  in  this  magnificent 
grass  country.  Many  years  before,  his  great- 
grandfather, an  English  Tory,  had  fled  into 
this  inland  country  in  order  to  escape  certain 
unpleasant  relations  with  the  colonial  govern- 
ment. Here  he  had  builded  an  enormous  log 
manor-house,  and  surrounding  himself  with 
rather  worthless  retainers,  maintained  a  sort  of 
baronial  existence.  Others  followed,  and  after 
a  time  the  country  was  cleared  and  came  to  be 
divided  into  great  tracts  of  pasture  land,  owned 
by  these  powerful  families.  But  the  elements 
of  the  feudal  system,  although  suffering  some 
modifications,  remained.  The  tenants  were, 
for  the  most  part,  born  and  reared  on  the  stock 
land,  and  were  almost  fixtures. 


232          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

The  descendants  of  this  independent  ances- 
try continued  to  reside  as  near  to  the  central 
part  of  their  estate  as  possible,  and  maintained 
huge  residences,  rough  at  times  and  not  quite 
comfortable  perhaps,  but  always  enormous. 
The  nature  of  the  country  being  especially 
adapted  to  the  fattening  of  beef  cattle,  this 
industry  soon  came  to  be  the  exclusive  busi- 
ness of  this  powerful  people.  It  was  a  profit- 
able and  supremely  independent  industry,  and 
gave  wide  play  to  the  baronial  instincts  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon ;  who,  even  after  the  golden  time 
of  his  race  had  gone  out  so  many  hundred 
years,  still  loved  the  open  sky,  and  the  blue 
hills,  and  the  monster  oak  trees,  and  hated  in 
his  heart  with  a  stubborn  bitter  spirit  of  rebel- 
lion the  least  shadow  of  restraint.  He  was 
willing  to  serve  God  if  need  be,  but  while  he 
lived  he  would  not  serve  men.  In  stature  the 
descendants  of  the  long  dead  Saxon  were  huge 
specimens  of  the  race,  almost  as  big  of  limb  as 
the  fabled  barbarians  of  Lygia ;  powerful  men, 
whom  close  and  intimate  relations  with  the 
mother  nature  kept  strong  and  immensely 
vital  to  the  very  evening  of  life.  But  withal 


The  Grazier.  233 

the  hospitality  of  the  Saxon  was  profligate, 
his  impulses  were  kindly,  and  he  was  quite 
content  to  leave  the  affairs  of  government  and 
the  problems  of  civilization  to  other  hands, 
provided  the  minions  of  these  powers  held 
their  feet  back  from  his  soil. 

The  twilight  had  deepened  into  night;  on 
the  crest  of  the  far-off  hills  the  great  oak  trees 
stood  outlined  against  the  sky  like  mighty 
silent  figures  waiting  for  some  mystic  word 
that  should  call  them  into  life. 

The  rim  of  the  moon  was  rising  slowly  from 
behind  the  oil  field,  red  like  battered  brass; 
the  road,  covered  with  shifting  light  and 
shadow,  stretched  across  the  rolling  country 
like  a  silver  ribbon.  The  grazier  rode  slowly, 
his  hands  hanging  idly  at  his  sides,  and  his 
face  set  with  deep  thought ;  from  time  to  time 
he  raised  his  ponderous  right  hand  and  struck 
it  heavily  against  the  tree  of  his  saddle  as 
though  to  indicate  thereby  some  important 
decision  finally  reached,  but  as  often  he 
dropped  the  hand  back  to  its  place. 

The  important  information  of  the  oil  driller 
had  added  a  mighty  element  to  the  matters 


234         ?%*  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

with  which  he  was  evidently  concerned.  The 
horse,  left  to  his  own  inclinations,  quickened 
his  pace  and  presently  the  shadow  of  a  huge 
house  loomed  upon  the  crest  of  the  hill  at  the 
roadside.  The  horse  stopped  at  the  gate,  and 
the  man,  aroused  from  his  reverie,  dismounted 
slowly,  and  opening  the  gate  led  the  horse 
through ;  as  he  closed  the  gate  he  stopped  for 
a  moment  and  rested  his  enormous  elbow  on 
the  latch.  "  Well,"  he  said,  as  though  an- 
nouncing his  temporary  conclusion  to  himself, 
"  I  '11  ship  the  cattle  to-morrow,  and  I  '11  see 
Jerry." 


II 


FROM  the  earliest  record  of  events,  either 
sacred  or  profane,  the  genus  Bos  has 
been  associated  with  the  history  of  the  land- 
owner. The  Ancient  Egyptian  saw  in  him 
certain  traces  of  divinity,  and  honored  it  with 
proper  recognition.  The  lamented  Job,  erst- 
while poet  of  calamity,  found  time  amid  the 
recording  of  his  numerous  disasters  to  set  down 
his  venerable  appreciation  of  the  species ;  and 
the  pagan  Homer,  while  singing  of  gods  and 
men,  remembered  to  sing  also  the  virtues  of 
the  noble  bullock ;  and  the  painters,  too,  from 
Claude  Lorraine  to  Rosa  Bonheur,  have 
deigned  to  consider  the  artistic  importance  of 
the  domesticated  kine ;  treating  him  first  as  a 
necessary  adjunct  to  a  landscape,  and  later  as 
a  central  figure  in  the  scene.  He  has  had  his 
part,  say  the  records,  not  infrequently  with  the 
235 


236          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

plans  of  men,  virtuous  and  otherwise.  A  cer- 
tain wily  barbaric  general  used  him  well  in  a 
difficult  emergency,  and  the  patriarch  Jacob 
used  him  in  a  shrewd  physiological  experiment, 
which  he  had  probably  learned  at  Padan-aram 
in  his  salad  days;  an  experiment  that  added 
much  to  the  worldly  worth  of  the  good  father, 
but  detracted  not  a  little  from  his  fame. 

When  the  sun  climbed  up  from  behind  the 
broad  eastern  hillside  on  the  following  morn- 
ing it  looked  down  upon  Rufus  Alshire,  who, 
far  more  expeditious  than  itself,  had  already 
set  himself  to  the  affairs  of  the  day ;  before  the 
dawn  he  had  brought  the  cattle  from  their  beds 
in  the  cool  pasture  land,  weighed  them  at  his 
scales  and  turned  them  out  in  the  road  on  their 
journey  to  the  shipping  station  some  ten  miles 
away.  The  herd  strayed  leisurely  along  the 
highway.  The  giant  Alshire  rode  through  the 
drove,  keeping  the  bullocks  moving  slowly; 
while  following  the  herd  barefoot  in  the  dust, 
was  one  of  his  retainers,  a  half-witted  youth, 
wearing  an  ancient  straw  hat,  a  shirt  originally 
of  the  material  called  "  hickory,"  but  now 
patched  in  variegated  colors,  and  blue  cloth 


The  Grazier.  237 

trousers  well  worn  and  frayed.  As  the  youth 
tramped  along  he  sang  in  a  high  piping  voice 
one  of  those  simple  little  songs  which  the  play- 
ing children  sing,  and  by  way  of  illustration 
danced  up  and  down  and  whipped  the  dust 
with  a  long  hickory  switch.  On  his  heart  was 
no  shadow  of  the  cares  of  men,  and  for  this 
reason,  perhaps,  under  his  torn  shirt  was  two- 
thirds  of  the  happiness  of  the  world. 

As  the  herd  wandered  along  under  the  great 
oaks  that  lined  the  roadway  and  the  rays  of 
the  morning  sun  crept  down  through  the  green 
leaves,  making  queer  mottled  spots  on  the 
sleek  cattle  and  brilliant  shifting  patches  on 
the  dewy  grass,  one  looking  on  could  easily 
have  come  to  believe  that  the  world  had  turned 
back  some  several  hundred  years,  and  this  was 
a  grassy  forest  glade  of  merry  England,  and 
the  herd,  cattle  of  the  gruff,  gigantic  Saxon 
who  rode  among  them  on  his  huge  red  horse, 
scowling  under  his  black  brows  and  cursing  by 
St.  Withold  and  St.  Dunstan  and  the  soul  of 
Hengist  the  evil  times  of  the  Conqueror  that 
forced  him  to  drive  his  herd  into  the  thick 
forest  at  daybreak  in  order  to  preserve  it  from 


238          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

the  marauding  cut-throats  of  a  Norman  baron ; 
and  he  would  have  looked  close  for  great 
stones  half-bedded  in  the  moss,  lasting  monu- 
ments to  the  weird  and  bloody  rites  of  some 
stern  Druid  colony  long  dead  ;  and  then 
glanced  up  sharply  to  see  if  that  patch  of 
thicker  green  in  the  deeper  woods  were  not 
indeed  the  coat  of  some  gallant  outlaw  whose 
bosom  was  English,  and  who  stood  ready  with 
his  yew  bow  and  his  cloth-yard  shaft  to  join 
the  huge  Saxon  in  his  stubborn  fight  against 
the  bloody  followers  of  Duke  William  of  Nor- 
mandy ;  and  when  the  herd  had  wandered  by 
one  would  have  leaned  over  in  the  road  to 
see  if  there  was  not  a  brass  collar  soldered 
fast  around  the  neck  of  the  happy  cowherd, 
graven  in  Saxon  letters  with  this  inscription: 
"  Zaak,  the  son  of  Jonas,  is  thrall  to  Rufus  of 
Alshire." 

The  cheery  sunshine  under  the  clear  arch  of 
blue,  with  its  homely  noises  of  awakening  life 
and  its  cool  breath,  ladened  with  the  fresh  odor 
wafted  from  meadows  of  clover  springing  up 
with  sweet  new  blossom  after  the  harvest,  all 
so  conducive  to  careless,  joyous  existence, 


The  Grazier.  239 

failed  utterly  to  remove  any  portion  of  the 
anxiety  from  the  face  of  the  grazier. 

He  sat  listlessly  in  his  saddle,  with  his  gray 
eyes  half-closed  and  the  muscles  of  his  face 
drawn  down  in  furrows ;  the  red  roan,  trained 
from  his  colt  days,  assumed  the  duties  of  his 
master,  and  moved  carefully  among  the  cattle ; 
his  equine  intelligence  appreciating  that  it  was 
a  part  of  his  duty  to  the  indolent  master,  to 
see  that  the  drove  kept  moving  slowly,  and 
that  no  bullock  stopped  to  crop  the  wet  grass 
by  the  roadside,  or  fight  with  his  fellow. 

The  watches  of  the  night  had  brought  to 
Rufus  Alshire  no  solution  of  the  matter  with 
which  he  had  struggled  so  persistently  during 
the  evening  before.  He  was  acting,  it  was 
true,  upon  his  temporary  plan,  but  that  seemed 
but  an  incident  in  the  main  vexatious  problem. 

The  giant  was  now  entirely  oblivious  of  his 
environment,  and  deep  in  his  troublous  mat- 
ter he  spoke  aloud.  "  If  I  could  only  hold 
the  title,"  he  muttered,  and  then,  as  if  realiz- 
ing the  folly  of  his  hope,  he  gripped  the  tree 
of  his  saddle  with  his  hand  and  straightened 
his  mighty  foot  suddenly  in  the  stirrup.  The 


240          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

leather  snapped  under  the  great  weight,  and 
the  iron  stirrup  dropped  into  the  road.  The 
red  roan  stopped  short,  and  the  huge  Alshire, 
pronouncing  some  severe  malediction  on  his 
ponderous  size,  dismounted,  picked  up  the 
stirrup  and  tied  it  to  the  strap.  Then  he 
slipped  the  bridle  rein  over  his  arm  and,  walk- 
ing along  beside  the  horse,  began  to  examine 
the  herd  with  the  critical  eye  of  an  expert,  and 
comment  thereon  with  the  artlessness  of  a 
child. 

"  Beef  for  the  British,"  he  said,  "  and  as 
good  beef  as  John  Bull  ever  put  under  his  ribs. 
They  are  broad  on  the  backs  and  deep  in  the 
brisket  and  heavy  in  the  quarters,  and  every 
black  calf  of  them  made  the  beam  kick  sixteen 
hundred  pounds." 

The  grazier  slapped  his  horse  fondly  on  the 
neck.  "  They  '11  please  the  Jews,  won't  they, 
boy  ?  "  The  red  roan  pricked  up  his  ears  and 
rubbed  his  nose  against  his  master's  arm,  as 
though  this  statement  was  quite  in  accord  with 
his  own  private  views  of  the  matter.  "  They 
will  ship  well  over  the  sea."  The  giant 
laughed.  "  And  by  gad!  if  the  rotten  ships 


The  Grazier.  241 

hold  together  the  black  brutes  will  get  a 
blamed  sight  nearer  to  the  Queen  than  most 
of  the  little  snobs  ambling  around  in  the 
East." 

The  herd  of  Rufus  Alshire  belonged  to  that 
species  of  beef  cattle  termed  Polled-Angus, 
native  to  the  lowlands  of  Scotland ;  a  breed  of 
comparatively  recent  importation.  They  were 
fine  bullocks,  full,  round,  and  comely  in  form ; 
hornless,  trim  of  head  and  neck,  and  with  coats 
as  black  as  the  fabled  spirit  of  midnight.  The 
law  of  natural  selection  had  finally  indicated 
this  breed  as  best  adapted  to  the  conditions  of 
the  West  Virginia  grazier.  It  was  hardy, 
easily  maintained,  and  endured  the  rigor  of 
the  winter  without  distress,  beside  it  was  quick 
to  mature  and  gained  flesh  rapidly,  and  then, 
too,  the  absence  of  horns  rendered  it  easier  to 
handle  and  far  less  dangerous. 

The  horn,  a  necessary  and  powerful  weapon 
in  the  wild  state,  was  in  the  state  of  domestica- 
tion a  useless  incumbrance.  Hence  nature, 
laboring  for  the  convenience  of  men,  thrust  in 
and  produced  the  Polled-Angus. 

The  business  of  the  grazier  had  been  progres- 


242          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

sive.  The  powerful  landowner,  who  in  the 
autumn  purchased  his  cattle  from  the  stockmen 
of  the  interior  counties,  had  ever  encouraged 
the  cultivation  of  the  breed.  For  many  years 
the  short-horn  Durham  had  been  the  great 
cattle  of  this  inland  country.  It  was  an  old 
race;  old  in  England  when  the  Scandinavian 
and  the  Dane  swarmed  over  the  river  Tees. 
But  the  breed,  though  excellent,  was  rather 
slow  to  mature  and  not  adapted  to  severe 
winters,  and  the  breeder  awakened  to  the 
needs  of  his  market  and  casting  about  for  an 
animal  better  adapted  to  his  uses  chanced  upon 
the  Hereford,  first  imported  by  the  elder  Clay 
of  Kentucky.  And  the  Hereford  became  the 
chief  bovine  of  the  grazier.  He  was  old,  too; 
old  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  Wye  in  the 
tenth  century,  and  ancient  of  record,  it  is  said, 
in  the  law  of  Howell  the  Good;  but  while  a 
fine  beef  animal,  he  preserved  one  defect,  the 
massive  horn.  Still  he  maintained  his  place, 
until  on  a  certain  autumn  morning  at  a  fat 
cattle  show  in  Chicago,  the  good  wife  of  a 
powerful  Virginia  grazier,  on  a  quest  for  the 
ideal  bullock,  pointed  down  into  the  stock  ring 
at  the  splendid  Polled-Angus  and  said,  "  There 


The  Grazier.  243 

he  is,  but  he  don't  look  human."  And  there 
he  was  indeed,  broad,  and  shiny  black,  and 
hornless  as  a  man's  palm — nature's  answer  to 
the  breeder's  dream. 

The  great  tawny  sun  climbed  high  in  the 
heavens;  the  heat  of  the  day  settled  down 
over  the  living  earth  like  an  invisible  mantle ; 
the  crisp  freshness  of  the  morning  breeze  had 
given  place  to  the  monotonous  hot  air  of 
midday.  The  dust  arose  in  clouds  from  under 
the  feet  of  the  herd,  and  the  cattle  themselves, 
warm  and  vexed  with  the  irksome  travel,  were 
restless  and  difficult  to  control.  The  great  Al- 
shire  and  his  huge  horse  moved  here  and  there 
through  the  drove,  white  with  dust ;  while  the 
happy  thrall  plodded  along  behind  the  herd, 
whistling  merrily  and  turning  from  time  to 
time  to  strike  some  lagging  bullock,  and  shout 
with  childish  glee  "  Go  along  you  fat  feller; 
to-night  you  will  ride  on  the  steam-cars,  and 
to-morrow  the  British  will  eat  you."  And 
passing  a  slight  inaccuracy  in  the  matter  of 
time,  the  witless  Zaak  was  entirely  correct. 
To  him  the  steam-cars  were  marvels  from  won- 
derland, and  the  British  was  some  far-away 
gigantic  monster  with  a  mighty,  insatiate  maw. 


Ill 


THE  young  man  closed  the  door  to  the 
private  writing-room  of  the  club,  and 
coming  back  to  the  table  drew  a  chair  up  be- 
side his  companion  and  sat  down. 

"  Rufus,"  he  said,  "  how  did  you  get  in  so 
deep  ? " 

"  Well,"  responded  the  grazier,  looking 
down  at  the  floor,  "  I  am  an  ass,  Jerry,  just  a 
natural  ass.  I  was  all  right,  doing  well  and 
living  like  a  lord,  until  I  endorsed  for  that  lum- 
ber company.  When  it  grew  shaky,  I  tried  to 
save  myself  by  borrowing  money  and  holding 
it  up  until  the  panic  was  over,  but  I  could  n't 
do  it,  and  when  the  thing  failed  I  had  the 
notes  to  meet.  I  did  n't  want  to  be  sued,  so 
I  borrowed  the  money.  It  was  a  big  sum,  al- 
most as  big  as  I  was  worth,  but  I  thought  that 
the  men  from  whom  I  borrowed  the  money 
244 


The  Grazier.  245 

would  not  push  me,  and  that  probably  I  could 
pull  through  some  way.  I  might  have  known 
that  the  crash  would  come,  but  it  is  natural,  I 
judge,  to  postpone  the  evil  day." 

"  Have  your  creditors  instituted  legal  pro- 
ceedings ?  "  asked  the  young  man. 

"  Not  yet,"  replied  Alshire.  "  On  Thurs- 
day I  was  at  the  county  seat  looking  after  my 
taxes,  and  while  there  William  Farras,  who  is 
a  local  manager  for  the  oil  company,  took  me 
aside  and  said  that  through  some  business 
transactions  my  notes  had  come  into  his  hands, 
and  added  that  he  hoped  that  I  was  in  a  posi- 
tion to  pay  them,  as  he  was  hard  up  and  would 
require  a  considerable  sum  of  money  at  once. 
On  the  way  home  in  the  evening  I  had  the 
conversation  with  the  driller  of  which  I  have 
spoken ;  and  his  statement  made  the  scheme  as 
plain  as  daylight.  The  company  believes  that 
the  pool  is  under  my  land,  and,  wishing  to 
secure  the  property,  it  has  bought  up  my  out- 
standing notes.  The  plan  is  to  sue  me  at  once, 
sell  the  land,  and  buy  it  in." 

The  giant  spoke  slowly,  the  great  muscles  of 
his  face  set,  and  his  eyes  hard.  He  raised  his 


246          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

ponderous  clenched  hand  and  brought  it  slowly 
down  on  his  knee.  "  I  shipped  the  cattle,"  he 
added,  "  to  prevent  their  being  attached,  and  I 
have  gone  over  the  whole  thing  from  end  to 
end,  and  by  every  devil  in  hell  I  don't  see  any 
way  to  stop  their  game." 

Jerry  Van  Meter  arose  and  went  over  to  the 
window.  He  was  mightily  affected  by  the 
hopeless  position  of  his  friend,  and  in  his 
breast  his  heart  was  heavy.  The  condition  of 
things  was  reversed.  From  his  very  babyhood 
he  had  gone  to  the  giant  with  his  troubles,  and 
the  giant  had  always  found  some  way  out. 
Now  the  man  had  come  to  him,  and  he  was 
helpless.  He  looked  at  the  huge  grazier  sit- 
ting motionless  with  his  face  in  his  hands,  and 
the  tears  gathered  in  his  eyes.  Van  Meter  knew 
too  much  of  the  world  not  to  know  that  the 
man  was  ruined.  Finally  he  turned  to  his 
companion. 

"  Rufus,"  he  said,  "  we  will  walk  down  to 
my  office  and  see  what  can  be  done." 

It  was  merely  a  weakling  move  for  delay. 
In  his  heart  the  young  man  knew  that  the 
matter  was  hopeless. 


The  Grazier.  247 

The  two  men  arose  and  passed  out  of  the 
club. 

The  life  of  Jerry  Van  Meter  had  been 
crowded  with  events  quite  as  varied  and  rapid 
of  incident  as  that  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor.  His 
parents,  who  resided  on  a  small  farm  near 
Rufus  Alshire's  estate,  had  died  when  the 
child  Jerry  was  quite  an  infant,  and  the  huge 
grazier  had  assumed  the  guardianship  of  the 
youth.  Under  his  direction  the  boy  had  been 
educated,  and  finally  installed  as  a  bank  clerk 
in  one  of  the  small  towns.  But  the  spirit  of 
adventure  was  big  in  the  breast  of  the  youth- 
ful Jerry,  and  one  morning  he  closed  the 
ledger  carefully  and  vanished  into  the  North- 
west. Here  he  pulled  teeth  for  an  itinerant 
dentist,  drummed  for  a  soap  house,  and 
travelled  with  a  circus.  But  he  had  a  fortu- 
nate star,  not  at  all  times  obscured ;  and  when 
the  boom  struck  St.  Paul,  Jerry  drifted  in, 
bought  far  and  wide,  and  carried  out  with  him 
ten  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  which  he  promptly 
dropped  in  a  bucket-shop  in  Chicago.  A  letter 
to  the  good  genius  Alshire  brought  a  check  for 
one  hundred  dollars  and  nine  pages  of  advice. 


248         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

With  this  money  in  his  pocket,  Jerry  passed 
over  on  to  the  Pacific  coast.  Here  he  mixed 
drinks  in  a  bar-room,  and  officiated  in  the  im- 
portant capacity  of  night  clerk  to  a  restaurant, 
until  his  star  came  up  again,  and  when  it  did, 
Jerry  chanced  on  an  abandoned  claim  that 
netted  him  seven  thousand  dollars.  He  re- 
turned to  Alshire  the  one  hundred  dollars  and 
the  well-worn  but  badly-heeded  letter  of  ad- 
vice, and  set  out  for  the  East.  In  St.  Louis 
he  became  deeply  interested  in  certain  horse 
races,  and  ten  days  later  he  landed  in  the  Vir- 
ginias bronzed,  bearded,  and  broke.  The 
giant  Alshire  laughed  at  the  escapades  of  this 
youth  until  his  sides  ached,  gave  him  another 
check  and  the  ancient  letter  of  advice  with 
various  amendments,  and  the  restless  Mr.  Van 
Meter  dropped  down  into  the  metropolis  of 
New  York.  Here  his  star  gave  evidences  of 
constancy,  and  he  became  an  insurance  broker 
and  a  man  of  affairs. 

The  two  men  walked  slowly  down  the  steps 
of  the  club  and  across  the  busy  thoroughfare. 
As  they  stepped  up  on  the  opposite  curb  they 
were  startled  by  a  sharp  cry,  and  turning  sud- 


The  Grazier.  249 

denly  they  saw  a  little  man  stumble  and  fall 
forward  in  the  street  directly  in  front  of  an  ap- 
proaching mail  wagon.  The  great  horses  were 
almost  upon  him,  bearing  down  in  a  long 
sweeping  trot.  The  driver  at  the  moment  was 
not  looking,  but  it  was  too  late  for  him  to 
prevent  the  impending  accident  even  if  he 
had  been.  The  giant  Alshire  ran  out  into 
the  street,  caught  the  horses  and  threw  his 
ponderous  weight  against  the  iron  bits.  The 
heavy  Percherons  reared  and  fell  back  on  their 
haunches,  the  tongue  of  the  wagon  shot  for- 
ward, grazing  the  giant's  shoulder,  and  the 
wheels  stopped  for  a  moment  almost  against 
the  body  of  the  prostrate  man.  In  that  mo- 
ment Van  Meter  dragged  the  hapless  pedes- 
trian from  beneath  the  belly  of  the  horses. 
The  giant  stepped  quickly  aside,  and  the 
horses,  plunging  forward  heavily  on  the  cobble 
stones,  passed  on  down  the  street,  while  the 
half-dazed  driver  did  not  even  look  back  to 
ascertain  what  had  really  occurred. 

The  little  man  wiped  the  dust  from  his  hat 
with  the  sleeve  of  his  coat  and  looked  up  at 
his  deliverers. 


250          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  Randolph  Mason  came 
near  to  losing  his  clerk.  I  guess  I  stumbled 
on  that  infernal  rail." 

A  great  light  came  into  the  face  of  Jerry  Van 
Meter.  He  came  up  close  to  the  little  man 
and  caught  him  by  the  shoulder.  "  Randolph 
Mason  !  "  he  said,  "  Is  Randolph  Mason  in 
New  York?" 

"  Yes,"  responded  the  little  man.  "  I  am 
his  clerk.  Parks  is  my  name.  Mr.  Mason  is 
here,  but "  Then  he  stopped  short. 

The  now  excited  Van  Meter  shook  the  little 
man  almost  roughly  by  the  shoulder. 

"  Good,"  he  cried,  "  good,  we  must  see 
him  at  once." 

The  clerk  Parks  looked  down  at  his  soiled 
clothes  and  the  dust  on  his  bruised  hands. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said  slowly,  "  it  is  against 
the  strict  order  of  the  physicians,  but,  under 
the  circumstances,  I  don't  quite  see  how  I  am 
going  to  refuse." 


IV 


FJANDOLPH  MASON  leaned  forward  and 
1  \  struck  his  hand  heavily  on  the  arm  of  his 
chair. 

'  Forty  thousand,"  he  said  sharply,  "  you 
owe  that  sum,  sir?"  His  face  looked  old, 
sunken,  and  furrowed  with  heavy  dark  lines, 
but  his  eyes  shone  under  his  shaggy  brows. 

'  Yes,"  responded  the  grazier,  "  fully  that 
much." 

"  To  secure  that  amount  in  cash,"  continued 
Mason,  "  it  will  be  necessary  to  deal  with 
some  bank  or  savings  institution  of  which  the 
president  or  some  powerful  director  is  an  attor- 
ney-at-law.  This  condition  will  be  found  to 
obtain  in  almost  any  one  of  the  small  towns  of 
the  country,  and  if  my  directions  are  followed 
strictly,  the  plan  can  be  carried  out  and  the 
money  secured  in  a  very  few  hours.  The  plan 

is  simple  and  easy.     In  the  first  place " 

251 


252          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  But,"  said  the  giant  Alshire,  "  I  don't 
want  other  men's  money.  I  don't  want  to 
commit  a  crime." 

The  veins  in  the  forehead  of  Randolph 
Mason  grew  black  with  anger. 

"  Commit  a  crime!  "  he  cried.  "  No  man 
who  has  followed  my  advice  has  ever  com- 
mitted a  crime.  Crime  is  a  technical  word.  It  is 
the  law's  name  for  certain  acts  which  it  is  pleased 
to  define  and  punish  with  a  penalty.  None 
but  fools,  dolts,  and  children  commit  crimes." 

"  Well,"  responded  the  grazier,  "  whether 
the  plan  you  are  about  to  propose  is  a  crime  or 
not,  it  is  certainly  a  moral  wrong,  and  I  have 
no  desire  to  rob  a  bank  by  committing  even  a 
moral  wrong." 

Randolph  Mason  arose  slowly  and  pointed 
his  finger  at  the  huge  Alshire. 

"  The  old  story,"  he  sneered,  "  child  afraid 
of  a  goblin.  Moral  wrong !  A  name  used  to 
frighten  fools.  There  is  no  such  thing.  The 
law  lays  down  the  only  standard  by  which  the 
acts  of  the  citizen  are  to  be  governed.  What 
the  law  permits  is  right,  else  it  would  prohibit 
it.  What  the  law  prohibits  is  wrong,  because 


The  Grazier.  253 

it  punishes  it.  This  is  the  only  lawful  meas- 
ure, the  only  measure  bearing  the  stamp  and  the 
sanction  of  the  State.  All  others  are  spurious, 
counterfeit,  and  void.  The  word  moral  is  a 
pure  metaphysical  symbol,  possessing  no  more 
intrinsic  virtue  than  the  radical  sign." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Mason,"  said  Van 
Meter  thrusting  into  the  conversation,  "  but  I 
am  quite  certain  that  you  mistake  the  request 
of  my  friend.  He  is  not  attempting  to  secure 
any  sum  of  money.  He  simply  desires  to  re- 
tain the  title  to  his  land  and  prevent  its  sale, 
until  he  can  determine  the  extent  of  its  oil 
production." 

"  For  what  length  of  time  ?  "  asked  Mason. 
1  Well,"  said  the  grazier,  "  I  scarcely  know. 
One  year  might  be  time  enough,  or  even  less 
than  one  year;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
might  require  several  years.  You  see,  if  I  can 
prevent  the  land  from  being  sold,  and  keep  it 
in  my  name  until  the  territory  is  developed, 
then  if  oil  is  found  in  paying  quantities  I  can 
meet  all  these  notes,  and  if  the  land  is  dry  I 
am  no  worse  off.  At  any  rate,  I  want  to  hold 
on  to  the  land  and  see." 


254          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Are  there  judgments  of  record  against 
you  ?  "  inquired  Mason. 

"  Not  yet,"  replied  Alshire,  "  but  Farras  is 
preparing  to  sue  on  the  notes  and  rush  the  sale 
through.  Can  I  stop  him ;  can  I  hold  the  sale 
off?"  There  was  anxiety  in  the  grazier's 
voice. 

Randolph  Mason  began  to  walk  to  and  fro 
across  the  room  with  an  unsteady  nervous 
stride. 

"  Easy,"  he  muttered,  "  easy  as  learning  to 
lie."  Then  he  stopped  by  the  table  and 
looked  down  sharply  at  the  great  Alshire. 

"  Have  you  two  friends,"  he  asked,  "  non- 
residents of  your  State,  whom  you  can  trust  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  responded  the  grazier,  "  Mr.  Van 
Meter  here  in  New  York,  and  Morgan  Gaston 
now  in  Ohio,  they  will  both  stand  by  me." 

"  Then,"  said  Mason,  "  listen  to  me,  and  do 
as  I  advise,  and  the  sale  of  your  property  will 
be  as  far  distant  years  from  to-day  as  it  seems 
this  afternoon.  First  make  an  oil  lease  for  a 
long  term,  say  thirty  years,  to  your  non-resi- 
dent friend  of  Ohio,  giving  him  all  the  oil 
privileges,  but,  for  your  own  protection  in  case 


The  Grazier.  255 

of  the  death  of  the  lessee,  incorporate  in  the 
instrument  a  clause  permitting  the  lessor  the 
right  to  annul  the  lease  at  any  time  by  the  pay- 
ment of  a  small  sum.  Have  the  instrument 
show  also  that  the  entire  compensation  for  the 
lease  has  been  fully  paid  in  advance.  Then 
make  another  lease  renting  all  your  remaining 
property  rights  to  your  friend  Mr.  Van  Meter 
of  this  city.  Have  this  second  lease  for  a 
similar  term  and  of  similar  provisions  to  the 
first,  and  the  entire  compensation  for  it  like- 
wise paid  in  advance.  Then  you  have  but  to 
record  the  instruments,  employ  an  attorney, 
and  sit  down  in  the  shadow  of  your  house. 
The  hair  on  your  head  will  have  thinned  vastly 
before  the  litigation  over  your  complicated 
affairs  terminates  in  a  final  decree  of  sale." 

Rufus  Alshire  leaned  forward  listening 
eagerly.  "  But  won't  Farras  sue  me,"  he 
asked,  "  won't  he  attack  the  leases  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  Mason,  "  he  will  at  once 
do  one  of  two  things ;  either  he  will  bring  an 
action  at  law  on  the  notes,  or  he  will  attempt 
to  embrace  the  whole  matter  in  a  chancery 
suit.  If  he  sues  at  law,  resist  and  attempt  to 


256          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

fight  through  the  superior  courts.  When  he 
finally  obtains  a  judgment  at  law  in  your  State, 
he  will  be  compelled  to  resort  to  a  suit  in  chan- 
cery for  the  purpose  of  selling  the  land.  In 
either  event  he  must  come  finally  into  a  court 
of  chancery  and  include  the  holders  of  these 
leases  as  parties  defendant  to  his  action. 
When  this  is  done,  the  non-resident  lessees  are 
not  to  appear,  and  he  will  be  able  to  obtain 
service  on  them  only  by  an  order  of  publica- 
tion. You  alone  will  fight  this  chancery  suit 
through  the  lower  and  superior  courts,  and 
just  before  a  sale  of  the  land  is  ordered  by  the 
court  of  last  resort,  one  of  the  non-resident 
lessees  must  appear,  and  by  virtue  of  the  statu- 
tory provision  applying  to  such  cases,  file  his 
bill  of  review  and  open  up  the  whole  matter, 
enjoin  the  sale,  fight  the  case  over  again  and 
again  through  the  superior  court.  When  this 
new  litigation  finally  draws  near  to  a  close  and 
the  land  is  again  ordered  sold,  the  remaining 
non-resident  must  appear,  bring  his  action  in 
the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  enjoin 
the  sale,  and  proceed  with  his  fight. 

"  By  this  time,"  continued  Mason,  placing 


The  Grazier.  257 

his  bony  hand  on  the  giant's  shoulder,  "  there 
will  probably  be  gray  streaks  in  your  beard, 
and  if  you  wish  to  run  this  litigation  on  into 
eternity,  you  will  have  only  to  produce  some 
collateral  heir." 

The  huge  Alshire  looked  up  at  the  strange 
man  beside  him.  "  Is  all  this  possible  ?  "  he 
asked  in  astonishment. 

Randolph  Mason  did  not  at  once  answer;  he 
walked  stumblingly  across  the  room  to  his  chair 
and  sat  down  by  the  table.  His  form  was  thin 
and  gaunt,  and  along  the  border  of  his  fore- 
head the  veins  were  purple  and  swollen.  After 
a  time  he  turned  toward  the  powerful  grazier, 
his  face  ugly  with  a  sneer.  '  To  the  law,"  he 
said,  "  all  things  are  possible — even  justice. " 

»7 


ONE  morning  in  the  early  winter  the  red 
roan  horse,  with  his  head  over  the  high 
fence  of  his  pasture,  saw  two  men  standing  in 
the  neighboring  meadow  contemplating  in 
silence  a  gigantic  derrick.  One  he  imme- 
diately recognized  as  his  master  Rufus  Alshire, 
and  the  other  resembled  in  a  very  large  degree 
a  certain  obnoxious  person  who  on  a  memor- 
able summer  night  had  smeared  his  well-kept 
mane  with  most  disagreeable  petroleum. 

Presently  the  grazier  spoke.  "  I  judge  that 
it  will  not  now  be  necessary  for  Jerry  to  in- 
voke the  tedium  of  Federal  tribunals,  there 
seems  to  be  grease  enough  here  to  pay  every- 
thing and  wind  up  the  lawsuits." 

The  driller  looked  up  at  the  oil  streaming 
down  from  the  timbers  of  the  derrick ;  then  he 
made  a  mighty  angular  gesture  with  his  bare 
right  arm. 

"By  jolly!"  he  said,  "there  is  money 
enough  in  that  hole  to  pay  off  the  national 
debt." 


THE  RULE  AGAINST  CARPER 


359 


THE  RULE  AGAINST  CARPER 


/CARPER  did  not  recall  that  he  had  ever 
*<^  noticed  the  ugly  details  of  the  court- 
room before, — the  high,  soiled  ceiling,  the 
rows  of  benches,  worn,  broken,  empty  as  a 
fool's  heart,  the  clerk's  desk,  and  the  pre- 
sumptuous bench  of  the  judge;  the  long 
tables,  too,  for  the  attorneys,  heaped  with 
papers,  books,  and  dusty  covers,  a  farrago  of 
disorder — how  ugly  they  were  ! 

Carper  looked  up  at  the  judge.  The  man's 
black  silk  robe  fell  away  in  sharp  straight  folds ; 
he  sat  erect  like  a  bronze  cast,  his  face  turned 
half  toward  the  window  in  order  that  he 
might  better  read  the  paper  before  him.  How 
power  had  changed  this  face !  Carper  remem- 
bered idly  that,  years  before,  the  face  of  this 
261 


262          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

man  had  been  sweet,  tender,  lit  with  kindness. 
Now  it  was  as  hard  as  white  ivory. 

The  attorneys  at  the  table  were  talking  in 
subdued  whispers;  Carper  did  not  hear;  he 
was  wondering  vaguely  if  the  long  slim  fingers 
of  the  judge  ever  ached  as  his  head  was  aching. 
The  conjecture  was  unique. 

It  was  difficult  for  Carper  to  realize  his  posi- 
tion. His  clothing  was  certainly  better  than 
that  of  any  other  man  in  the  court-room.  He 
was  quite  certain  that  his  face  was  the  same 
powerful,  clean-cut,  immobile  mask  that  it  had 
been  always.  The  world  did  not  know,  it  did 
not  even  suspect.  If  one  had  asked  the  clerk 
yonder  for  a  financial  rating  on  Russell  Carper, 
the  clerk  would  have  shrugged  his  shoulder 
and  written  six  figures  on  the  margin  of  his 
record.  Yet  this  was  the  end, — the  end. 

Over  by  the  window  stood  a  prisoner  in  the 
custody  of  the  marshal.  The  man  was  poor, 
miserably  poor ;  his  clothes  were  clean,  thread- 
bare, ancient  as  the  law.  Carper  knew  the 
story.  The  man  was  a  little  shopkeeper ;  his 
wife  was  ill, — dying,  the  deputy  said.  There 
were  children,  too,  hungry,  naked,  absurdly 


The  Rule  against  Carper.          263 

miserable,  and  the  crime, — some  petty  revenue 
infraction.  He  would  be  presently  required  to 
pay  his  fine,  and,  failing  that,  would  be  locked 
up  in  a  cell.  It  was  the  law,  heartless  as  an 
image.  Yet  Carper  wondered  listlessly  if  one 
from  beyond  the  world's  rim  on  the  quest  of 
the  good  would  not  take  this  man,  and  leave 
the  others,  leave  all  the  others — the  judge  with 
his  blue-veined  patriciate  face,  the  clerks  with 
their  lank  jaws,  the  attorneys,  with  their  expres- 
sion of  abominable  indifference,  and  himself. 
Well,  the  machinery  of  human  justice  was 
awry.  Then  he  wondered  at  the  condition  that 
bred  this  surmise.  How  was  it  possible  to 
reflect  so  indolently  upon  the  condition  of  an- 
other when  his  own  was  perilous.  Still,  such 
speculations  obtained  with  men,  it  is  said,  in 
great  crises,  and  at  the  grave's  edge. 

Presently  the  judge  laid  down  his  papers  and 
began  to  speak.  Carper  heard  him  as  one 
speaking  a  long  distance  away.  At  first  the 
words  seemed  indistinct  and  without  meaning ; 
then  he  caught  them  full,  as  one  waking  sud- 
denly catches  and  understands  the  conversa- 
tion of  his  fellow. 


264          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

"  Our  commissioner's  report,"  the  judge 
was  saying,  "  shows  that  this  receiver  has  now 
in  his  custody  three  hundred  and  seventeen 
thousand  dollars  belonging  to  the  stockholders 
of  the  Massachusetts  Iron  Company.  At  a 
former  term  of  this  court  an  order  was  entered 
directing  the  receiver  to  distribute  this  fund 
in  accordance  with  a  previous  decree.  At 
that  term  this  order  was  resisted  upon  the 
ground  that  the  decree  was  not  sufficiently 
explicit ;  which  objection  the  court,  upon  con- 
sideration, overruled.  Later,  the  payment 
was  sought  to  be  held  back  upon  the  ground 
that  this  order  was  improvidently  awarded, 
and  a  motion  made  to  revoke,  which  was  also 
overruled.  And  still  later  innumerable  techni- 
cal objections  have  been  offered  by  the  attor- 
ney for  the  receiver,  all  of  which  this  court 
considers  insufficient  and  trivial." 

At  this  point  one  of  the  attorneys  for  Carper 
arose.  "  If  your  honor  please,"  he  said,  "  we 
ask  to  be  heard  in  defense  of  our  client.  We 
think  that  it  can  yet  be  shown  that  this  order 
should  not  be  enforced."  Then  he  sat  down. 

The  blue  veins  in  the  face  of  the  jurist  grew 


The  Rule  against  Carper.          265 

darker.  "  Gentlemen,"  he  continued,  "  can- 
not now  be  heard.  The  time  of  this  court  has 
already  been  much  consumed  by  unprofitable 
argument.  On  yesterday  the  stockholders  of 
the  Massachusetts  Iron  Company  applied  for  a 
rule,  requiring  Russell  Carper,  receiver,  to  ap- 
pear and  make  answer,  if  any  he  has,  why  he 
should  not  be  attached  and  punished  for  con- 
tempt in  disobeying  the  orders  of  this  court. 
The  rule  I  have  ordered  to  issue  returnable  to- 
morrow morning  at  ten  o'clock." 

The  judge  handed  the  paper  down  to  the 
clerk,  and  directed  the  next  case  to  be  called. 
Then  he  leaned  back  in  his  chair  with  the  huge 
unconcern  of  one  well  removed  from  the  grip 
of  his  fellows. 

It  was  the  end.  But  to  Carper  it  was  all  as 
unreal  as  the  yesterday.  He  seemed  to  be  out 
of  the  scene,  and,  for  that,  out  of  himself,  an 
idle  spectator.  His  attorneys  were  whispering 
gravely.  They  were  telling  him  that  the  game 
was  now  played  out.  There  was  nothing  more 
to  do.  He  must  direct  his  banker  to  pay  over 
the  money.  Even  these  hired  fighters  did  not 
suspect ;  they  presumed  the  delay  was  favor- 


266          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

able  to  some  deal  in  stocks.  The  truth — only 
he,  Carper,  knew  the  truth.  There  was  grim 
humor  in  the  huge  deception. 

On  the  way  out  of  the  court-room  Carper 
stopped  and  handed  the  clerk  the  only  bill  in 
his  pockets.  It  would  pay  the  fine  of  the 
shopkeeper.  The  whole  thing  was  an  im- 
mensely clever  little  comedy,  and  he  wanted 
to  see  the  sunshine  come  back  into  the  shop- 
keeper's face. 


II 


CARPER  had  been  given  the  long  after- 
noon to  arrange  some  scheme,  to  plan 
some  way  out,  but  he  allowed  it  to  slip  by  like 
any  leisure  day.  His  mind  was  indolent,  ab- 
surdly indolent.  In  all  the  other  crises  of  his 
life,  it  had  been  restless  as  a  blown  wave. 
This  day  it  was  sluggish.  Realizing  the  end, 
it  had  folded  its  arms.  It  was  difficult  to  ap- 
preciate that  his  career  was  ripped  off  like  a 
rotten  seam.  That  afternoon  his  broker  had 
talked  confidentially  of  a  certain  railroad  ven- 
ture. Men  from  the  West  had  begged  the  use 
of  his  name  in  the  organization  of  a  trust  em- 
bracing the  copper  mines  of  a  State.  He  had 
been  asked  to  contribute  to  a  great  charity. 
This  night,  the  last  night,  in  his  library  there 
was  yet  no  sign  of  that  ruin  which  sat  by  the 
hearthstone.  The  fire  was  warm  ;  the  sur- 
267 


268          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

roundings  were  luxurious;  the  shelves  were 
filled  with  books;  from  the  walls  the  stern 
faces  of  his  forbears  looked  down,  haughty, 
relentless  as  their  lives  had  shown.  It  was 
difficult  to  realize  that  he  was  an  embezzler  and 
a  bankrupt,  suspended  above  a  vacuous  abyss 
by  a  line  that  the  to-morrow  would  cut  short. 

For  five  years  he  had  been  the  receiver  of 
the  Massachusetts  Iron  Company.  In  those 
five  years  he  had  bought  and  sold  on  the 
street  with  the  abandon  of  a  master.  He  had 
used  the  funds  of  this  company  as  a  work- 
man would  use  a  tool  left  lying  in  his  shop. 
He  had  won  great  sums,  and  he  had  lost  until 
the  very  earth  seemed  slipping  away  beneath 
him. 

Then  the  slump  in  the  stocks  of  a  great  rail- 
road system  caught  him,  and  he  had  put  in 
every  dollar  of  this  trust  fund  and  watched  it 
vanish  like  a  vapor.  Still,  no  one  knew.  Car- 
per's reputation  stood  on  the  street  flawless, 
perfect  in  outline,  an  empty  shell — but  no  one 
knew. 

When  the  stockholders  of  the  Massachusetts 
Iron  Company  finally  demanded  a  reorganiza- 


The  Rule  against  Carper.         269 

tion,  he  had  employed  the  best  legal  talent 
and  thrust  in  every  delay  of  the  law.  The 
fight  had  gone  on  year  after  year,  from  court 
to  court.  Orders  had  been  entered  and  dis- 
solved ;  decrees  had  been  made  and  reversed ; 
hearings  had  been  granted  by  superior  courts, 
and  rehearings,  but  the  end,  long  delayed, 
came  finally. 

The  stockholders  had  applied  for  a  rule.  It 
was  the  most  summary  proceeding  known  to 
the  law.  To-morrow  he  must  pay  the  money, 
or  go  to  prison  a  felon.  The  end  loomed  like 
the  ragged  outlines  of  a  cliff. 

To  Carper  this  end  seemed  atrociously  un- 
just. He  had  worked  so  hard,  so  hard:  the 
best  that  was  in  him ;  the  good  days  of  his  life 
had  been  given  up  to  this  labor.  It  had  been 
his  boyhood  dream  to  be  a  factor  in  great 
affairs, — the  bitter  labor  of  his  youth,  and,  in 
part,  the  realization  of  his  middle  life.  He 
had  cut  every  other  thing  away  with  a  hand 
that  never  once  had  trembled.  It  was  his 
right  to  win,  if  there  was  any  justice  anywhere. 
But  to-morrow  was  the  end.  To-morrow  the 
court  would  strip  him  naked  as  a  bone. 


270         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

He  had  heard  many  a  sleek  pastor  discourse 
glibly  upon  the  eternal  justice  of  Providence. 
Then  he  believed  it  cant  with  a  smattering  of 
truth.  Now  it  was  entirely  clear  that  it  was 
cant — but  false ;  a  pleasant  lie  like  the  house- 
wife tale  of  fairies. 

Carper  took  the  cigar  from  between  his 
teeth  and  dropped  it  on  the  hearth.  The 
game  of  life  was  an  ugly  game.  He  confessed 
that  he  had  lost  interest  in  its  play.  Now  that 
the  thought  suggested  he  saw  that  he  had  been 
losing  interest  all  along.  It  was  inertia  he  had 
been  fighting — the  plague  of  inertia,  and  for 
no  gain  at  all.  It  was  a  world  where,  if  one  sat 
still,  one  wasted  with  monotony;  and  if  one 
labored,  it  was  only  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing ships  to  fly  in  the  air,  which,  when  they 
were  all  completed,  sat  stupidly  on  the  earth 
or  by  hap  toppled  heavily  upon  the  builder, 
crushing  out  his  heart.  He  could  not  under- 
stand why  men  had  sometimes  said  that  life 
was  good. 

Carper  had  looked,  he  believed,  into  not  a 
few  chambers  of  the  temple.  The  same 
hooded  shape  sat  in  each.  If  fame  was 


The  Rule  against  Carper.         271 

given,  the  skull  was  pretty  generally  crushed 
with  the  crown.  If  wealth  was  given,  the 
back  was  broken  with  the  weight.  If  love  was 
given, — yes,  the  heart  was  usually  broken  with 
it, — love ! 

Carper  arose  and  went  over  to  a  cabinet  in 
the  wall,  unlocked  the  door  and  took  out  a  big 
photograph,  which  he  brought  over  to  the  fire. 
It  was  the  picture  of  a  woman,  young,  beauti- 
ful, quivering  with  the  power  of  life;  the  mass 
of  dark  hair  was  caught  back  from  her  fore- 
head ;  the  eyes  were  wide,  clear,  transparent ; 
the  nose  was  straight  as  the  edges  of  a  die,  and 
the  throat  round,  full,  marvellously  moulded. 
In  the  set  of  the  head  there  was  pride  of  line- 
age, and  the  relentless  rigor  of  purity.  It  was 
a  fine  face  looking  out  from  a  blameless  life, 
strong,  innocent,  exacting  as  a  child. 

The  man  placed  the  picture  on  the  mantel- 
shelf, and  sat  down  by  the  fire.  That  day  was 
now  seven  years  gone, — seven  years !  Yester- 
day was  no  farther  back.  Every  detail  was 
clear.  The  shock  had  stamped  them  on  the 
lining  of  his  heart.  He  had  loved  this  woman 
as  a  man  loves  just  one  time.  He  was  trusting 


272          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

his  very  life  to  her  keeping ;  he  was  going  to 
her  for  everything  that  woman  could  give ;  all 
of  sweet  fellowship,  all  of  tender  sympathy,  all 
of  love.  She  was  the  only  woman  in  the 
world.  The  expression  is  a  platitude,  but  the 
fact  was  as  real  to  Carper  as  the  green  trees 
and  the  sunlight.  One  could  no  more  have 
convinced  this  man  that  other  women  held 
some  of  the  charms  of  life,  than  one  could 
have  convinced  him  that  light  was  a  liquid. 
His  love  had  gained  the  power  of  a  religion ;  it 
had  gone  farther — it  had  gained  the  majesty  of 
a  law. 

Then  the  blow  came.  Carper  had  gone  to 
this  woman  with  a  case  of  jewels,  the  profit  of 
a  venture.  He  remembered  how  happy  she 
had  been ;  how  the  light  of  trustfulness  danced 
in  her  eyes ;  how  she  had  carried  the  jewels  to 
the  window  in  order  to  see  the  great  rubies 
change  to  blood-drops,  then  she  had  turned 
with  a  playful  smile  and  asked  him  how  he 
had  made  so  great  a  sum,  and  he,  like  a 
miserable  fool,  had  blurted  out  that  it  was  a 
part  of  his  gains  in  a  deal  on  the  street, — a 
deal  in  which  he  had  ruined  a  little  banking 


The  Rule  against  Carper.          273 

house  by  seizing  the  vantage  of  its  ignorant 
mistake.  It  was  the  master  blunder. 

Carper  remembered  how  the  blood  faded 
from  this  woman's  face,  leaving  it  ashen  gray; 
how  the  dull  ache  of  pain  gathered  in  her 
eyes;  how  she  had  come  over  to  him  and 
dropped  the  jewels  slowly  into  their  case, 
and,  without  a  word,  had  gone  back  and 
sat  down  by  the  window.  And  he  knew  that 
the  woman  of  his  love  was  gone  out  beyond 
the  reach  of  his  fingers.  The  leash  of  his  love 
had  slipped  off  and  snapped  back  in  his  hands. 

He  remembered  the  effect  upon  himself 
as  something  entirely  foreign  to  that  which 
writers  attribute  to  men  under  similar  condi- 
tions. There  was  no  benumbing  horror;  no 
desire  to  make  any  violent  demonstration  of 
feeling.  There  was  merely  a  vague  loss  of 
strength,  as  though  the  bottom  of  the  foun- 
tain of  vital  force  had  dropped  out,  and  then 
he  grew  sick — physically  sick.  The  material 
man  was  hurt  first,  and  collapsed,  much  as  it 
would  have  done  if  shot  through  the  stomach 
with  a  shell.  He  felt  none  of  that  exag- 
gerated emotion  affected  by  the  play-actor. 

18 


274         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

It  was  the  commonplace  sickness  of  a  frightful 
physical  blow. 

When  the  nausea  had  passed,  he  had  gone 
over  to  her  and  begged  to  know  what  it  all 
meant,  although  he  knew  quite  as  well  as  she. 
The  woman  had  looked  at  him  with  her  wide 
eyes  deadened  with  pain,  and  said  that  she  had 
believed  him  an  honorable  man,  and  had  loved 
him  for  it,  but  that  now  she  knew  the  truth, 
and  she  would  never  be  wife  to  a  dishonest 
man. 

He  had  made  his  argument  then,  and  it  was 
good.  The  venture  was  perfectly  legitimate, 
so  recognized  and  treated  by  the  business  men 
of  the  land, — nay,  more,  it  was  so  regarded  by 
the  law.  These  were  the  standards ;  there  was 
no  other.  The  customs  of  business  and  the 
law  were  the  rules  of  right  in  the  market- 
places. Their  wisdom  was  unquestioned.  It 
was  the  result  of  all  the  experience  of  the  race, 
the  conclusion  of  wise  men,  laboring  with  con- 
ditions as  they  were.  Had  she  a  right  to  say 
that  these  standards  were  wrong  ?  He  ap- 
pealed to  her  sense  of  fairness.  Was  she  better 
able  to  pass  upon  the  right  of  this  transaction 


The  Rule  against  Carper.          275 

than  all  the  merchants  learned  in  the  customs 
of  trade, — than  all  the  jurists  learned  in  the 
wisdom  of  the  law  ?  Was  she  better  able  ? 

Carper  pointed  out  that  she  lived  in  an  at- 
mosphere of  purity  high  above  the  din  of  the 
fight  for  life;  a  land  of  refined  right,  refined 
justice,  refined  honor,  magnificent,  but  not  the 
world.  The  world  had  no  perfect  code ;  it  was 
no  perfect  place ;  it  was  not  intended  to  be  so, 
else  it  would  have  been  so  made.  It  was  an 
indifferent  place,  governed  by  the  inexorable 
law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  wherein  men 
struggled  for  footing  and  the  comforts  of  life. 
One  must  conform  to  conditions  as  they  were, 
or  go  to  the  wall.  It  was  folly,  it  was  idiocy, 
it  was  madness  to  do  otherwise. 

Trade  was  like  nature — pitiless.  There  was 
no  measure  of  consideration  for  the  weakling 
or  the  fool.  The  fight  was  bitter,  remorseless, 
subject  to  dangerous  shifts.  If  one  was  caught 
and  broken,  the  blame  was  with  the  sorry 
scheme  of  things,  and  this  a  Divine  Intelli- 
gence maintained,  and  men  could  not  question 
that  Divine  Intelligence.  This  condition  of 
the  world  might  not  be  purest  or  happiest,  but 


276         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

it  was  the   condition  of  the  world.     It  was 
God's  way.     Was  it  wise  to  call  it  evil  ? 

Then  he  shifted.  He  bade  her  remember 
that  she  had  promised  to  go  through  life  with 
him.  It  was  a  contract  she  had  no  right  to 
break.  The  position  she  was  taking  was  a 
frightful  contradiction.  She  was  reprehending 
the  customs  of  trade,  and  yet  there  was  not  a 
merchant  in  the  market-place  who  would  repu- 
diate his  contract.  She  was  charging  the  law 
with  failure  to  appreciate  the  highest  shades  of 
right,  and  yet  she  was  about  to  do  what  the 
law,  even  in  its  grossness,  recognized  and  pun- 
ished as  a  wrong.  She  could  not  stand  upon 
this  ground,  and  do  as  she  was  doing.  Even 
if  he  had  done  wrong,  was  she  to  punish  him 
by  doing  wrong  also  ?  The  vice  of  her  posi- 
tion cried  out.  Her  promise  had  been  given. 
It  was  immutable.  It  was  her  affair  to  know 
her  mind,  to  determine  what  she  wanted  to 
do.  She  had  known  him  for  years.  In  those 
years  there  had  been  ample  time  to  investi- 
gate, to  conclude,  to  decide.  No  one  had 
abridged  the  freedom  of  her  agency.  She  had 
finally  become  a  party  to  this  contract.  Could 


The  Rule  against  Carper.          277 

she  repudiate  it  now,  like  the  common  rogue 
in  whom  principle  was  wanting  ? 

He  bade  her  remember  the  gravity  of  this 
contract.  It  involved  her  life,  his  life,  may- 
hap the  lives  of  others.  He  had  been  shaping 
everything  to  this  end.  Had  she  the  right  to 
ruthlessly  destroy  all  ?  What  would  she  think 
of  one  who  having  contracted  to  accompany 
another  into  an  unknown  land  should  suddenly 
abandon  him  on  the  purlieus  of  the  country  ? 
What  would  she  think  of  one  who  had  con- 
tracted to  go  with  another  into  an  unknown 
sea,  and  should,  when  that  other  had  made  his 
ship  ready,  abandon  him  at  the  water's  edge  ? 
Was  she  doing  better  than  these  ? 

The  woman  had  not  answered  at  ail;  dark 
circles  had  gathered  around  her  eyes,  and  the 
full  muscles  of  her  throat  relaxed  and  sank. 

Then  Carper  remembered  how  he  had  knelt 
down  beside  her  and  taken  her  hand  in  his 
own, — her  hand,  limp,  cold,  a  dead  thing. 

Besides,  he  had  gone  on,  he  loved  her;  she 
was  the  only  woman  in  his  heart.  There  could 
never  be  another.  Day  and  night,  and  every 
day  and  night,  his  heart  cried  for  her  like  a 


2  78          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

tortured  child !  There  was  nothing  else  in  all 
the  wide  world  to  live  for,  to  strive  for.  He 
had  grown  to  associate  her  with  every  hope, 
every  emotion,  every  ambition,  of  his  life. 
How  should  he  live  on  without  her!  What 
should  he  do  with  his  empty  days  !  Pride 
might  carry  him  crippled  through  a  few,  but, 
there  was  a  limit  to  the  endurance  of  a  man, 
and  what  then — what  of  his  empty  days 
then  ? 

If  he  had  been  doing  wrong,  God  could  find 
some  way  to  punish  him  outside  of  her  love. 
Besides,  if  he  was  doing  wrong,  he  needed  her 
the  more.  He  needed  her  to  round  out  his 
life,  to  add  honor  and  purity  and  right.  God 
had  sent  her  to  do  this  work  of  good.  Was 
she  going  to  refuse  merely  because  the  world 
was  not  the  sort  of  place  which  she  believed  it 
to  be  ?  Master  of  Life!  the  world  would  be 
abominably  empty  without  her.  He  would  go 
anywhere  she  wished;  do  anything,  be  any- 
thing, she  wished.  It  was  not  the  applause  of 
men  that  he  wanted  in  this  life,  nor  the  multi- 
tude of  things.  It  was  her  hand  on  his  own ; 
her  voice  in  his  ears;  her  image  in  his  heart 


The  Rule  against  Carper.          279 

forever.  He  could  never  get  back  again  to 
his  view-point. 

She  had  loosed  the  mouth  of  something  in 
his  bosom  that  clamored  for  her.  It  would  be 
content  with  no  other.  It  would  hush  for  no 
other.  His  heart  was  aching  now  with  the 
cry.  What  a  place  of  torture  it  would  be  to- 
morrow, and  the  next  year,  and  the  next. 

The  tears  had  rained  down  this  woman's 
face,  but  she  had  shaken  her  head. 

That  day  was  now  seven  years  gone — seven 
years !  Yesterday  was  no  farther  back.  Well, 
well!  He  had  been  only  partly  right.  The 
woman's  face  in  his  heart  he  had  walled  up. 
The  cry  for  her  he  had  silenced  with  the  opi- 
ates of  greed.  Still  they  were  both  there  and 
alive.  To-night  the  wall  had  slipped  away  and 
the  anaesthetics  were  powerless.  It  was  no 
matter.  After  all,  had  she  done  well  ?  She 
had  lived  on,  spotless,  pure,  alone ;  and  he  had 
lived  on — to  this.  Had  she  done  well  ?  That 
question  it  was  no  right  of  his  to  answer. 

Carper  got  up  from  his  chair,  took  the  pic- 
ture from  the  mantel,  broke  it  across  the  face 
and  dropped  the  pieces  into  the  fire.  It  was 


280          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

not  necessary  for  the  marshal's  deputy  to  spec- 
ulate about  this  picture. 

Then  he  went  over  to  the  cabinet  and  took 
out  a  pack  of  letters,  old,  yellow,  tied  with  a 
faded  ribbon,  and,  selecting  one  at  random, 
sat  down  in  his  chair  to  read  it  through. 
"  Dear  Heart,"  it  ran  at  the  beginning,  and 
at  the  end  "  I  am  unutterably  lonely,  and  I 
love  you."  Yes,  he  recalled  the  circumstances 
of  its  writing  well.  Then  he  replaced  it  with 
the  others  and  laid  them  all  gently  on  the  fire. 
They  should  not  be  pleasant  reading  for  the 
marshal. 

He  had  come  down  into  the  world,  with  his 
heart  shredded  and  every  shred  aching  like  a 
nerve,  and  from  that  day  he  had  flown  the 
black  flag  of  piracy.  Among  all  the  bucca- 
neers of  the  street,  the  hand  of  none  had  been 
heavier,  and  the  brain  of  none  had  been  keener 
than  his  own.  From  that  day  every  man  who 
had  passed  up  a  prisoner  on  to  the  deck  of  his 
galleon,  had  walked  the  plank.  The  muscles 
of  his  face  grew  tense  with  the  thought. 

Somewhere  in  the  house  a  clock  struck  ten. 
Carper  arose  and  walked  backward  and  forward 


The  Rule  against  Carper.         281 

across  the  room.  The  spirit  of  fierce  resist- 
ance was  beginning  to  awaken.  He  would 
not  be  stripped  like  a  weakling.  He  would 
fight,  fight — but  how  ?  It  was  hopeless  to 
dream  of  raising  the  money.  That  plan  had 
been  discarded  long  ago.  Vain  vaporing! 
There  was  no  way  remaining  but  Brutus's  way 
— the  road  out  into  the  vastness  of  eternity 
was  open !  The  exit  was  easy.  Why  should 
he  lag  back  ?  Surely  he  must  go  later  on. 
For  years  the  world  had  been  a  good  place  to 
get  out  of — for  seven  years. 

The  man  opened  a  drawer  at  the  bottom  of 
the  book-case  and  took  out  a  weapon — an  an- 
cient duelling  pistol  of  his  grandfather.  He 
carried  the  weapon  to  the  table,  wiped  it  care- 
fully, and  began  to  load  it.  When  he  had  fin- 
ished, he  went  over  to  close  the  door.  On  the 
threshold  lay  one  of  the  evening  papers  of  the 
city.  Carper  picked  it  up  and  brought  it  with 
him  to  the  light.  The  headlines  caught  his 
attention.  It  was  the  story  of  a  great  bank 
defaulter  who  had  gone  free  by  reason  of  some 
defect  in  the  law  shrewdly  pointed  out  by  a 
lawyer,  Randolph  Mason. 


282         The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

He  remembered  the  man  as  a  remarkable 
legal  misanthrope.  He  had  heard  of  him  in 
the  Federal  courts.  Somewhere  he  had  this 
man's  address,  jotted  down  one  morning  when 
the  administrator  of  an  estate  walked  out  of 
the  Federal  court  a  confessed  gigantic  thief, 
but,  by  this  man's  counsel,  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  law. 

Carper  looked  through  one  of  the  files  on  his 
table — yes,  here  was  the  residence  number. 
The  man  leaned  over  and  rested  his  arm  on  the 
mantel-shelf.  One  might  not  do  ill  to  go; 
there  was  time  ample.  One  could  come  back 
to  the  thing  of  steel  later  on. 

Carper  turned  suddenly,  put  on  his  coat  and 
hat,  and  passed  out  into  the  street,  closing  the 
door  and  locking  it  carefully  behind  him. 
Then  he  called  a  cab,  gave  the  number  to  the 
driver,  and  leaned  back  heavily  against  the 
cushion. 


Ill 


"  'T'HIS  is  the  place,  sir,"  said  the  cabman. 
Carper  stepped  out.  The  house  be- 
fore him  was  lighted.  The  door  was  standing 
open.  The  brougham  of  a  surgeon  was  beside 
the  curb.  He  walked  slowly  up  the  great 
steps  to  the  door.  There  was  an  indescribable 
something  in  the  air  which  seemed  to  presage 
calamity ;  there  were  sounds  as  of  persons  hur- 
rying with  some  desperate  matter. 

As  Carper  put  up  his  hand  to  touch  the  bell, 
two  men  came  out  into  the  shadow  of  the  hall. 

"  It  is  a  bad  case  of  acute  mania,"  one  was 
saying.  "  I  have  given  him  two  hypodermics 
of  morphine,  and  he  is  still  raving  like  a 
drunken  sailor." 

Carper's    hand   dropped   to  his  side.      He 
turned  slowly  and  passed  down  the  steps  into 
the  street.     He  had  not  been  noticed  by  the 
283 


284          The  Man  of  Last  Resort. 

busy  surgeons.  At  the  curb  he  stopped  for  a 
moment  and  looked  up  and  down  the  avenue. 
Well,  it  was  justice.  For  seven  years  he  had 
flown  the  black  flag  of  piracy.  Among  all  the 
buccaneers  of  the  street,  the  hand  of  none 
had  been  heavier,  and  the  brain  of  none  had 
been  keener  than  his  own.  Every  man  who 
had  passed  up  a  prisoner  on  to  the  deck  of  his 
galleon,  had  walked  the  plank.  It  was  now 
his  turn.  It  was  justice. 

Carper  spoke  to  the  cabman.  Then  he 
stepped  in  and  closed  the  door. 

The  man  of  last  resort  was  probably  gone. 
There  was  now  no  resort  but  to  the  steel  thing 
on  the  table. 

THE    END. 


Jl  Selection  from  the 
Catalogue  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


Complete  Catalogue  sent 
on  application 


THE  STRANGE  SCHEMES  OF 
RANDOLPH  MASON 

16°,  paper,  sects. ;  cloth,  $1.00 

"  This  book  is  very  entertaining  and  original  .  .  .  ingeni- 
ously constructed  .  .  .  well  worth  reading." — New  York 
Herald. 

"One  of  the  best  three  volumes  of  stories  produced  within  a 
year,  as  will  be  recalled  by  those  who  are  attentive  to  such  matters, 
is  '  The  Strange  Schemes  of  Randolph  Mason.'  They  are  stories 
of  adventure  in  the  every-day  field  of  judicial  procedure.  The 
talent  required  to  make  adventures  of  this  order  interesting  is  a 
rare  one,  how  rare  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  almost  the 
only  famous  example  of  the  kind  in  English  letters  is  the  trial  in 
that  obsolete  novel,  '  Ten  Thousand  a  Year.'  " — New  York  Sun. 


THE  MAN  OF  LAST  RESORT 

16  ,  paper,  socts. ;  cloth,  $1.00 

"  The  author  makes  a  strong  plea  for  moral  responsibility  in  his 
work,  and  his  vivid  style  and  undeniable  earnestness  must  carry 
great  weight  with  all  thinking  readers.  It  is  a  notable  book." — 
Boston  Times. 

"  Mr.  Post  has  created  for  himself  a  new  field  in  literature,  just 
as  Conan  Doyle  by  his  Sherlock  Holmes  created  for  himself  a  new 
field.  He  shows  in  this  book  that  he  is  not  only  a  lawyer  but  a 
story  writer  of  the  very  highest  skill  and  literary  style.  The  stories 
are  most  thrilling  and  hold  one's  interest  to  the  end." — Law 
Students1  Journal. 

DWELLERS  IN  THE  HILLS 

12%  cloth,  $1.25 

Mr.  Post  ;s  to  be  congratulated  upon  having  found  a  new  field 
for  fiction.  The  scene  of  his  latest  story  is  laid  amidst  the  hills  of 
West  Virginia.  Many  of  the  exciting  incidents  are  based  upon 
actual  experience  on  the  cattle  ranges  of  the  south.  The  story  is 
original,  full  of  action,  and  strong  with  a  local  color  almost  entirely 
uc\v  to  the  reading  public. 


Myrtle   Reed's 

Charming  New 


The  White  Shield 

By  tile  Author  of  "  Lavender  and  Old  Lace," 
"The  Master's  Violin,"  etc. 

"  A  series  of  twenty  short  stories  by  that  justly 
famous  author  .  .  .  characterized  by  the  same 
high  ideals  of  life  and  action  and  the  same 
wholesome  .sentiment  that  are  pronounced  .fea- 
tures of  the  late  author's  work.  It  will  prove 
delightful  reading  for  the  busy  person  who  dis- 
likes the  exhausting  perusal  of  a  long  novel. 
It  is  gratifying  that  these  scattered  sheaves  of 
thought  and  fancy  have  been  gathered  into  one 
volume."  —  Buffalo  Commercial. 

"Without  any  doubt,  Myrtle  Reed's  many 
thousands  of  readers  will  have  deep  pleasure  in 
the  book  and  will  thoroughly  enjoy  its  char- 
acteristic atmosphere."  —  N.  Y.  Times. 

Frontispiece  In  Color  and  four  other  lltustra* 
tions  by  Dalton  Stevens 

Beautifully  printed  and  bound,     51.50  act     By  auH  5165 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  London 


The 
Fringe  of  the  Desert 

By  R.  S.  Macnamara 
12°.    $135  net    By  mail,  $130 

"  jlnd  the  Wist  Man  said:  *  Those  who  love  with 
passion  stand  on  the  Fringe  of  the  Desert ';  and  they 
who  heard  laughed  and  passed  on  their  way. " 

The  atmosphere  of  Egypt  glows  and 
pulsates  through  the  story,  giving  to  the 
author  an  opportunity  of  showing  that, 
not  only  figuratively  but  literally,  these 
two  lovers,  Ingram  and  Hesper,  stood  on 
the  Fringe  of  the  Desert.  It  was  her  power 
of  calling  up  vivid  pictures  of  Egypt  and 
the  Desert  that  caused  critics  to  compare 
a  former  story  of  Miss  Macnamara's  with 
the  work  of  those  magicians  of  the  East, 
Robert  Hichens  and  Pierre  Loti.  This 
new  book  promises  to  emphasize  her 
strength  in  that  particular. 

New  York  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons    London 


"Little  Thank  You  will  remain  in  the  memory  as 
one  of  the  most  human  and  lovable  of  story-book 
characters." 


Little  Thank  You 


Mrs.  T.  P.  O'Connor 

Author  of  "  My  Beloved  South  ~ 

With  Frontispiece.    $1.25  net.    By  mail,  $135 

From  the  author  of  "  THE  ROSARY,"  Fhreace  L.  Burclayi 

"  It  is  a  gem  :  full  of  fascinating  charm, 
which  seems  to  me  unique.  There  have 
been  charming  love  stories  and  charming 
child  stories,  but  in  your  book  we  have  the 
two  combined  into  a  perfect  whole.  Do 
accept  my  warmest  congratulations  and 
good  wishes  for  its  success." 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  daintily  written 
and  presented  than  this  fascinating  story. 
...  A  little  gem."  —  Philadelphia  Ledger. 

New  York  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons   London 


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